


Spectrum

by HelloHi43110



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Dissociative Identity Disorder, Drug Use, Dubious Consent, F/M, Gun Violence, Mild Sexual Content, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Trauma, Spoilers, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-03-27 05:05:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13873764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HelloHi43110/pseuds/HelloHi43110
Summary: (Set after Ray Route Good Ending)A decision for everyone’s sake.The Prime Minister committed his crime solely for his own benefit. He had no accomplices in the abduction – no one looking for leverage to save themselves.They were wrong.She didn’t deserve it and he was forced to go back to that place.Their roles reversed.He became her prince trapped in a tower.And his missing brother was the only one capable of finding them.





	1. Picturesque

Month 1, Day 1

Saeran looked down at his phone briefly, carefully rereading the text message she sent him. He stepped to the side of the crowded shopping district street and noted the stores that were nearby. She should be around the entrance to the underground train station, which he believed was just ahead. Maneuvering around the busy shoppers, he continued forward, eager to see his miracle in front of his eyes.

There she was. He recognized her easily, even with her back turned to him.

Minji Chae, the main character of his new life.

The sun reflected off of her hair, casting a glow, like an angel.

Saeran crept up behind her, easily concealing his footsteps in the busy area. He put one hand over her eyes.

“Ah?” She whispered in surprise, instinctively gripping onto his wrist. “Saeran?”

He wound his other arm around her, holding out a flower in front of her before removing his hand from her eyes. “Correct~!”

Minji laughed softly, taking hold of the stem. “For me?”

“Of course. A white camellia, meaning adoration.” Saeran said, letting her turn around before he hugged her to his body. “I missed you.”

She hummed in satisfaction, pressing her cheek into his shoulder. “I missed you, too. Even if it has only been two days.”

“That’s too long of not seeing you.” He pressed his lips to the side of her head and let her go. “Did you settle everything at SKY?”

“Ugh,” She groaned, pressing a couple fingers to her forehead. “I need a small favor, if it ever comes down to it.” Saeran tilted his head curiously, waiting for her to continue. He took the flower from her hand and tucked it behind her ear. “If anyone asks, I had a terrible stomach bug and was staying at your place so you could take care of me. Oh, and I accidentally left my phone at my apartment.”

“Easy enough.” He shrugged, combing his fingers through her hair to settle it back into place. “I’m more worried about your coursework, though. Do you need my help to lighten the stress?”

“You’re working hard enough, already, I couldn’t ask that of you.” She smiled softly and poked at his chest. “Besides, what I missed, I missed. My grades will suffer a bit, but it’s nothing I can’t get back.”

“Hmm… Let me know if you need my help, okay?” He grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers easily.

“You’re the best.” Minji smiled brightly, pressing closer to him. “Come on, I promised to take you to this yummy gelato place.”

Saeran smiled back at her and followed her lead through the crowd. They talked about this and that, nothing in particular, yet meaningful small talk as they caught up with each other’s lives. “Have you run into Yoosung at school yet?”

“Until recently, he was just another nameless student around campus.” Minji put a finger to her lip in thought as she looked at the sky. “I can’t really say I’ve seen him… We might cross paths during our general elective courses, since we’re the same age and year, but I’m also in an accelerated program for business, so I’m mostly over in those buildings. You said he was some science major, right? That’s not anywhere near where I have classes.”

“He still doesn’t know you’re a student there; I think it might be pretty funny to see the look on his face.” Saeran chuckled.

“Maybe I’ll go out of my way just to surprise him. Assuming he goes to class, that is.” The laughter seemed to be contagious. “Oh, we’re almost there.”

She led them to a cute little shop and proudly put out her hand.

“Premium gelato and milk ice cream?” Saeran read the signs.

“Forget that, this is what I really wanted to show you!” She insisted eagerly, tugging him in. “I thought you’d really like how pretty it is.”

He had to snicker at her enthusiasm, although he appreciated that she thought of him – much more than she probably realized. Inside the freezer displays were rows of colorful gelato designed as roses.

Saeran leaned down to her ear and whispered, “Thank you, love.”

“Don’t thank me before you taste it.” She pouted, her cheeks tinting just a tad pink. “I’ll pay.”

He tugged their connected hands before she could move away from him. “And what kind of gentleman would that make me?”

“Pay for our next date, then.” She teased, releasing his hand and skipping to the counter before he could retort again.

Saeran sighed good-humoredly, crossing his arms as he waited for her to return. He could never say no to her. Before long, she came back holding two rose designed gelatos in a cone, one pink and one white.

“Hmm? What should we do? They both suit you perfectly.”

“You’re certainly a smooth talker.” Minji rolled her eyes playfully. “Then, to your new beginnings.” She handed him the white gelato.

Saeran slowly took it, their fingers grazing each other and sending an electric tingle up his arm. “Have you been studying the language of flowers?”

She hummed in agreement. “Because you like it.”

He couldn’t help himself. He leaned down and pressed a tender kiss to her cheek. “My admiration and my gratitude towards you, the joy I feel when I’m with you, words and flowers will never be able to express it.”

“Y-You say this stuff way too easily!” She complained, her face becoming more flushed than before.

“Why don’t we sit outside so you can cool down with the breeze?” Saeran chuckled, opening the door for her and motioning towards one of the tables. He quickly took bigger steps and pulled out the metal chair.

“Thank you.”

“So? What flavors are these?” He asked while sitting down across the small table.

“Yours is banana and mine is raspberry. You’d like that one better, it’s much sweeter.” Minji informed, taking a small lick from the sweet treat. His eyes followed the movement unconsciously.

Saeran blinked to snap himself out of the short daze before she noticed. “Good?”

“Delicious~” She purred in delight. “Try it!”

He stifled a chuckle and took a small bite out of one of the petals. The cold treat melted on his tongue, leaving a very sweet, fresh banana taste. It was rich and smooth without being too overwhelming. “Mmm…”

“Right?” Minji giggled. She then proceeded to look around while absently taking another lick.

Saeran sat quietly, appreciating her profile. He was lucky. Really lucky. The woman in front of him was brave and kind, sticking with him through it all and encouraging him to live for himself. To value his own life.

He grinned, hiding his lips from her with his treat. Anyone as beautiful on the inside as she was, was also equally as beautiful outside. Quite the… _bonus,_ if he was completely honest.

It was no surprise that he fell in love with her. However, the best part was, was that she also fell in love with him. Chose him, of all people, over everyone else. He decided the day that they went to investigate the home he lived in as a child, that everything about him was hers to care for. To cherish as she pleased. His body, his mind, his everything.

Saeran leaned his chin into his palm, staring at her in amusement. “I always thought that women did that on purpose.”

Minji brought her attention back to him and tilted her head curiously. “What on purpose?”

He shifted in his seat, reaching across the table and wiping at the corner of her lips with his index finger, a bit of her colored lip product also staining his skin a bit – not that he minded. He proceeded to put the tip of that finger between his lips, the softness and moist warmth of his tongue swept across his skin. “Mm, raspberry isn’t bad either.”

“Th-Then switch!” She protested, her cheeks once again turning red. Minji held out her half-finished gelato and Saeran couldn’t help but laugh while handing her the flavor in his hand.

“Were you looking for something, angel?”

“Calculating the populace versus the time of day. Competition, accessibility, location pricing.” Minji listed off. Her eyes kept shifting away in embarrassment. “Traffic’s good, but the other location might be more worthwhile.”

Saeran was the one who rolled his eyes lightheartedly, this time. “Okay, business and marketing major, reign it in. This is your well-earned break.”

She laughed shortly, turning her eyes back to him. “Sorry, sorry~ I was on a special mission from my brothers when you called me to _test a game_. I never finished my preliminary report, so I have to make up time when I can.”

“Mission?”

“Yep. They send me on ‘location missions’ a lot, since I’m the one focusing on the marketing side of business.” She explained, looking down at her new gelato and taking a lick. “They’re thinking about opening another location in Seoul, so we have to find a place to set up shop. And since I’m here because of school, I was the most convenient, and cost free, employee. Even though I’m only suppose to work during school breaks…” Minji pouted.

Saeran looked around, trying to see what she saw. “What does your family’s company do again?”

“Souvenir sweets and some confectionaries. So little, packaged, premium desserts. Our biggest competitor is the Tokyo Banana series run by a Japanese company. We don’t focus on any certain fruit, like they do, but on the unique tastes of Korea. Ah, we also make fresh pastries at the shops, so its like a mini bakery.” She said excitedly. “We’re trying to show that the fresh and preserved sweets taste the same.”

He loved watching her talk about the things she was passionate about. “It’s not as big as C&R, but it’s getting pretty well known, isn’t it?”

“Yeah! It’s only a few, single digit, percentages of what C&R is, but my brothers are starting customized editions based on region. Like how some regions are known for their fruits or some kind of spice.” She then fell into thought. “Hmm… but should our airport locations sell all of them? Would that mean the pastry chefs would also have to prepare every flavor, too? …I should call brother ‘Su later.”

“And ‘Su is the… CEO-in-line, taking over for your mother, right?”

Minji nodded, looking happy that he remembered her dear brother. “Minsu Chae. The oldest of us.”

“You’re okay with him taking over the top position?” Saeran asked nonchalantly, eating the gelato in his hand.

“Of course. He’s more than earned it. Besides, we decided everything when we were young.”

“How did that work out?”

“When the four of us were little, we had a competition to see what we were good at. Although, I was the youngest and was at a pretty big disadvantage.” She said dryly. “Anyways, we baked cookies, did math worksheets, drew some fake ads, and took a quiz about the basics of a business. Our parents decided who won our little games.”

“And let me guess, you got the most attention for your _enthusiasm_.” He said knowingly.

“Aww, you know me so well.” Minji cooed playfully, if not a bit menacingly. “The second eldest of us, Minjun, baked the best – well, most edible – cookie. And Minhyuk did the best in math. Minsu got the most correct on that business quiz… but I suspect that was more due to his age at the time…”

“Probably.” Saeran chuckled. “You’re seven years apart, aren’t you? Minhyuk, who’s the closest to you in age, is still three years older. When did you play these ‘games’?”

“…When I was six…”

He snorted, but tried to hold in his laughter once he saw her glare. “And the four of you really decided your futures like this?”

“Why not?” Minji shrugged. “We made a promise together. Minsu went to university and focused on international business, Minjun went to culinary school to be a pastry chef, and Minhyuk focused on finances. I’m at SKY for business marketing.”

Saeran looked wistfully at the cold treat slowly melting in his grasp. “You’re awfully close...”

“I wonder,” She giggled. “Minhyuk keeps boasting that he graduated at the same time as Minjun, even though ‘Jun entered university a year earlier. I think ‘Jun is _ju~st_ about to crack and bake a disastrous dessert specially made for brother ‘Hyuk.”

He smiled softly, his emotions suddenly turning somber despite loving that she was comfortable talking about herself and her family around him.

Would he and Saeyoung have been so close…?

People always said twins knew each other best. That twins had the closest relationships.

None of Minji’s siblings were born with that strange bond, yet they promised to stay with each other. Promised to work together to expand their family’s aspirations.

They…

Were happy.

And loved.

“Saeyoung loves you.”

Saeran snapped his head up to look at her. “Huh? I wasn’t…” He trailed off and looked away, not wanting to lie to her.

She smiled at him softly, love filling her gaze. “He always kept saying ‘if you see someone who looks like me, please tell me’ or brought up some memory of the person he wanted to protect the most in this world in the chat room. Even if you’re not sure what you feel, at least trust that he hasn’t stopped thinking about you.”

“You… only talked to him for a week…” He whispered. Saeran blinked, his eyes suddenly tingling and becoming blurry.

“Even more reason to believe me. He said it so often throughout just a week, it stuck with me.” Minji grinned, leaning forward in her seat and brushing his bangs comfortingly.

“You… just seem like a good listener and people let their guard down.” Saeran retorted playfully, taking her fingers in his hand and kissing them. “You’re also kind of audacious, though.”

“I grew up with three older brothers. Boys think they can’t show their feelings, so they liked to come to me when they feel down instead of their friends. But I also have to get my own point across sometimes.” She huffed before taking an irritated bite out of the cone.

“Yes, yes.” Saeran waved off, standing up and pulling her hand with him. “We’re almost finished with these, should we look around, my angel?”

“Let’s switch again. I think you like this one better, you’re eating that one really slowly.”

Ah… did she notice?

It was very good, it was just… he preferred the sweeter taste of banana rather than the tart flavor of raspberry.

Before he could argue, she took back the remainder of the pink gelato inside the cone and gave him the cone with a small portion bitten off from the top. Even her bite mark was cute to him…

“If that’s what you want.” Saeran opted to say. He allowed her to settle the treat in her hand before grabbing her free hand and interlocking their fingers. “Where should we go? Anything you want to shop for?”

Minji hummed in thought. “…Anything…?”

“Of course. Anywhere you want to go.” He reassured, resuming eating the gelato.

“I’ve never brought a guy with me before other than my brothers... but do you want to go to a cosmetic store with me?”

“Anywhere,” He repeated, smiling down at her. “As long as I’m with you.”

By the time the two of them made it to the store Minji was aiming for, they finished their sweet treats. She first picked out a face cream, toner, and serum set she wanted to try out before moving over to make-up.

“Do you like this color?” She asked, holding up a vial of copper colored glitter nail polish to the sun.

“Does it come so… sparkly?”

“It’ll probably thin out when you put it on.” Minji said absently, twisting the vial around. She then turned back to the shelf. “If I put it on top of this rose beige color, I think it would look nice.”

Saeran could see the combination going over well, the warm colors complimenting her soft skin, but… “Maybe a softer, pastel pink? Rose beige is already a little brown, so it would just meld with the copper. Blue or grey would also look good.”

He was a little startled when she leaned up and kissed his jawline.

“Then how about this pink for play and this light grey for work?” She questioned, putting back the rose beige and picking out the two other colors.

“Suits you perfectly.” He rubbed his nose to the side of her head.

“As expected of you.” Minji giggled.

When she finished paying, the were back out into the busy walkways. They wandered around for a while until something caught Saeran’s eye.

“Come in with me?”

She nodded readily, taking her purchases from his hand so he could shop easier. The sales clerk greeted them pleasantly as they entered. Saeran nodded back to them and led Minji around the clothing store.

“Aww, look at how cute that is.” Minji fussed, looking towards a mannequin. “The hoodie has cat ears. Jumin would appreciate that.”

“I have a feeling Jaehee would be mad at us if we showed him.”

“…You’re right. Let’s just leave it at that, then.” She sighed in resolution.

Saeran stifled a chuckle. Reluctantly, he released her hand and browsed through the clothing rack in front of him. “This is a good material…”

Minji touched the cardigan next. “Wool, I think. It’s a little thick for this weather, but you get cold easily. Try it on.”

He took the thick cardigan from the hanger and put it on over his button up shirt. It had a high collar and large buttons, but no extreme design woven in, which he was grateful for. Saeran took a step towards the mirror set up by them, turning one way and then the other.

“Does it look bad?” He asked. His thin body made the cardigan seem a little big, but he kind of liked it loose like it was.

Minji reached up, adjusting the high collar to flair out a little more and buttoned the last three at the bottom. She took a step back, looking him up and down before suddenly winding her arms around his waist tightly. “Oh, what am I going to do? My boyfriend is so cuddly.”

Saeran chuckled breathily. “Does that mean it passes?”

“If you like it, then in my book, it passes~”

“Hmm… but what color do you think I should get?” He looked over her head towards the rack. There was a light beige color, a dark grey, and a light grey.

“I like this beige one you have on. It makes you look sunny and cheerful. Although, I’m not opposed to the darker one.”

“I didn’t buy many light-colored clothes except white shirts.” He thought out loud. “But this kind of makes me stand out too much, don’t you think?”

“Or you can buy both, and after you wear one enough to get your scent on it, I can steal it for a while. Then you can just wear the other one.” Minji grinned excitedly.

“You shouldn’t always splurge just because you can.” Saeran teased, stepping out of her arms and taking off the cardigan. “Beige it is, then.”

When they stepped out of the clothing store, he took back her bag from the cosmetic store to hold for her. He looked up at the sky and realized how much time had passed. “Are you tired? Should I bring you home?”

Minji hummed in thought, also looking towards the sky. “It’s almost time for dinner… Want to make something together?”

“Magic words I’ve been waiting to hear, angel.”

Hand-in-hand, the two of them made their way through the train system and arrived at Minji’s apartment complex.

“Are you staying the night or should I drive you home?” She asked, inputting her door passcode.

Saeran hesitated. “Can… Can I stay?”

“Of course!” Minji smiled at him, entering the apartment. She then reached down and took the shopping bags from him. “I’ll hang this up for you then. You’ve got a couple outfits in the closet that you left last time. I’ll be right back, you can start on dinner.”

Just as she turned away, Saeran tugged on her hand that he was still holding, knocking her off balance. Her gasp was cut off when his lips pressed against hers. He slowed down, lips sliding against hers carefully – savoring her taste.

She was sweet, more so than the gelato they had earlier. Addictively so.

Saeran swept the tip of his tongue across her lips teasingly before pulling back. “I wanted to do that all day…”

“Then you should have.” Minji whispered back, her breath brushing against his moist lips.

He blushed slightly. “Too many people.”

“Oh?” She sang disbelievingly. “But you can say all sorts of heart stuttering things with a straight face.”

“I’m only saying the truth.” Saeran leaned in, pecking her lips once more. “I’ll start on dinner. You’re a terrible cook, so the less you do the better~”

She gasped horrifyingly, stepping back in offense. He laughed jovially, leaning down once more to kiss her cheek signaling that he was just jesting.

“I’ll have you know, I can cook! …Decently!”

“Yes, yes~” Saeran sang, waving to her as he walked into the kitchen.

She was too precious. He even loved her annoyed expression.

Soon enough, the two of them were cooking together. Standing close enough to brush arms when they cut the ingredients. Clothes sweeping across each other’s as they walked pass. Bumping each other gently as they reached around to retrieve something.

Even if it was true that Saeran did most of the actual cooking, he didn’t want to boast about it. She looked stunningly happy, and there was absolutely no possibility that he would take that away from her. After eating dinner and washing the dishes together, he told her to go ahead and use the bathroom first.

Saeran sat on her couch, leaning his head back while listening to the soothing sounds of the water from the shower. He let out a breath, his body tired from the day despite enjoying their time together immensely so. Turning to lay on his cheek, he looked around the apartment.

It was very neat and organized. Not a single item was out of place. The décor was modern, almost elegantly princess-like, if he were honest. Although, there wasn’t as much pink as he predicted she would enjoy back then. The color scheme mainly grey and white with touches of royal blue. He chuckled to himself. She was truly raised like a princess, being the youngest female in the family and all. Overprotected and a bit spoiled her entire life.

Saeran once asked her why she even trusted him, a stranger who somehow got a hold of her phone number. She shrugged it off, saying that he didn’t sound like such a bad person. And her brothers would bail her out the moment she sent an SOS. However, she got nervous when the driver was going to force feed her sleeping pills if she didn’t put on the blindfold. Plus, Saeran had put a device in the car that jammed her phone signal.

He chuckled. She did also develop nerves of steel growing up with only male siblings.

If her brothers couldn’t come to her rescue, she’d managed by herself, even better than what they could do – she said.

Saeran’s eyes roamed the room he was in again, his mind coming back to the present. His attention was caught by the thin vase hosting the flower he gifted her today. Her home was truly unlike his brother’s, where Saeran was currently staying. The place was disorderly, and the colors were an eye sore, but…he wanted to look after it… to keep his hopes up. And, Saeyoung’s computers were top notch, more so than what C&R had. After hacking in and eliminating anything that the intelligence agency could track, plus securing the entire perimeter from cyber-attacks, Saeran was making good use of them.

…Or so he wanted to believe.

Nothing was coming up in his searches. His brother’s agency never administered a new alias into their system, nor did they terminate _707 EXTREME._ No agents were considered missing nor were any relocated. Nothing even seemed to change…

The color grey was suddenly obscuring his vision, making Saeran sit up straight instinctively.

“You’re thinking pretty hard.” Minji said softly. In her arms was a stack of three towels, a grey, white, and beige one, and a set of clothing.

She was almost meticulous to a fault with her interior designing.

“Did you have a good shower? Make sure your hair is dry before going to bed, I don’t want you getting sick.” Saeran said worriedly, standing up and walking around the couch. He stood in front of her, taking the towel from around her shoulders and put it on top of her head, rubbing the water away.

She let out a protesting noise but stayed still nonetheless. “Your turn. I bought a toothbrush for you earlier, it’s on the counter.”

Saeran stopped his hands and held her head steady with the towel as he leaned down and kissed the corner of her lips. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Minji whispered, her lips brushing against his.

He took the pile from her arms and headed towards the bathroom. Saeran probably didn’t need so many towels, but suspected she just grabbed a pile of them from the linens closet just in case. The bathroom was brightly lit. He almost laughed in amusement at seeing her home again. The bathroom was sparkly clean, despite being just used. And it was color coordinated to compliment the main room.

He was in love with the princess who ruled over cleanliness and the art of marketing. Everything needed to look attractive.

When he finished, he found her sprawled on her stomach at the foot of her bed, playing with her phone.

“Chatting with someone?” Saeran asked, rubbing a towel through his own hair and sitting beside her. The scent of her shampoo that he used wafted to his nose, nearly making him weak in the knees if he were still standing.

“Trying to convince Yoosung to go to school tomorrow so I could ambush him.” She giggled, looking up. Minji then frowned.

His heart thudded painfully. “What is it?”

Silently, she got up and went to her vanity where the skincare set she bought that day was placed. Soaking a cotton pad with toner, she walked back over and started patting it into his skin. “You shouldn’t let your skin become dry. It’ll be painful later.”

“Ahh… Minji, love, you don’t need to do this.”

“Hush.” She scolded, tossing the cotton pad away and then putting the next liquid concoction on his face.

Saeran had to admit, he enjoyed being pampered a bit. Only by her, though. However, he was grateful she skipped some of the steps of the popularized ‘Korean Skincare Routine’ and keeping to the simple things. As she rubbed the cream on, she squished his cheeks together.

“Now you’re just playing…” He said dryly.

“Caught me.” Minji laughed.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and shifted his balance on the bed. He pulled her down to hover over her. “Bad girl.”

“Oh?”

She looked divine with her hair splayed out on the comforter like it was. Saeran pushed his lips onto hers, stopping any further retorts. His body shivered as her fingers swept across his face and down his neck. Slipping his tongue between her lips, he was met with her own moist appendage. His surroundings were slowly disappearing as their lips danced together. His head getting filled with nothing but the woman beneath him.

Saeran trailed his lips away, kissing the corner of her mouth and down to her jaw. Minji hummed, tilting her head. He heard her swallow thickly, which made him smirk against her skin. Saeran boldly nipped down her neck to where her shoulder began and paused.

Like an animal gently licking its wound, he ran his tongue across the spot he once marked her. Her skin was now smooth and blemish free, but he still remembered vividly the pain he caused her.

“You should go to sleep. You have an early class in the morning.” Saeran whispered into her ear.

She groaned softly in dissatisfaction, however didn’t protest further.

He moved his body away from her and stood up, walking towards the light switch on the wall. Saeran waited until she was under the covers before turning off the lights and blindly making his way to her side. Slipping into bed next to her, he was accosted by her bright eyes staring at him.

“You don’t really think I can sleep after that, do you…?”

“Then should we talk until you settle down? I want to hear your voice more.” Saeran slid his arm around her, pulling her close to his body.

“What do you want to talk about?”

“Anything… anything is good.” He paused. “Or maybe I should help you fall asleep? I can sing you a lullaby if you want.”

She giggled softly, tucking her head under his chin. “A lullaby? Okay.”

Saeran pulled her a little closer. “Ahem… this is a bit more nerve-wracking than I thought. Relax right there, okay?”

“Mhm.”

He cleared his throat again. “Twinkle, twinkle, little star… How I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky… Twinkle, twinkle, little star… How I wonder what you are…” Saeran trailed off, his cheeks flushing slightly. Minji was silent in his embrace, prompting him to lean back a little to look at her form. “Are you… sleepy yet?”

Her eyes were closed and her breathing was steadying out.

“You’re asleep… good. I hope you sleep well…” Saeran whispered to himself, bringing his body closer to her again. He laid there silently, listening to the sounds of her breath. “Being able to sleep next to you… is all I ever wanted.” His pressed his lips to the crown of her head. “Good night. I love you. More than anything.”


	2. As It May Be The Last

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Month 1, Day 2
> 
> “How mean~ You think I can’t get into this school?”

Month 1, Day 2

Minji opened an eye blearily as the familiar, ear grating sound of her phone alarm broke through her dreams. Whimpering with the effort, she reached over to the nightstand and dragged her phone closer – eager to turn off the sound. The comforter slipped off of her body, revealing a shoulder to the air. With an eye still closed, Minji sat up, sliding her legs across the bed sheets to set them on the cold ground.

Standing up, she rubbed her eye softly while making her way to the bathroom. Her body yet to adjust to the sudden balance alteration, Minji stumbled out of her room. Just as she was about to put a hand on the doorframe to steady herself, warm hands gently grabbed onto her shoulder. She looked up, her sleep addled mind finally catching up.

Oh, right. Saeran slept over yesterday.

“I know you’re the type to get up and go, but please stay in bed until you’re less disoriented.” Saeran said in soft, concerned voice, bending down to her height. “Good morning.”

Minji’s voice was a little scratchy as she greeted him back, “Mm… Morning.”

Smiling sympathetically, he kissed her forehead. “Don’t make me worried so early in the day. If I let you go, you won’t fall over, right?”

When she nodded her head, Saeran let go of her cautiously. He stepped to the side, allowing her view of the bathroom. The lights were on, so he must have just been in there.

…Oh… Minji shuffled pass him, hoping he didn’t see her cheeks flushing slightly.

If he didn’t lock the door, she could’ve accidentally walked in on him…!

After waking up a little more with some extra splashes of water and dressing for the day, Minji walked out into the main room. Her sense of smell was quickly confronted by a pleasant aroma wafting through the air. She peered around the doorway into the kitchen, seeing Saeran at the stove.

“You didn’t have to make breakfast.” She said. “I could’ve cooked.”

“I… woke up early. Besides, I like cooking for you.” He replied, smiling over his shoulder. “The French toast is almost done. Just sit down.”

Minji complied, silently sliding a chair out from the table and taking a seat. Soon, Saeran plated the last of the food and turned off the stove. Putting in some last touches, he brought two plates over, setting one down in front of her and one across the table.

For today’s breakfast, Saeran made a sandwich out of French toast with chocolate spread in the middle. Looking over, his plate had much more chocolate and powdered sugar. Despite being born into a family that ran a company specializing in confections, Minji’s sweet tooth was not nearly as large as Saeran’s – which was fine. He could eat as he liked… however…

Her plate was full of strawberry and banana slices and his were not.

Saeran walked back over to the counters to grab forks and knives before sitting down in the seat across from her.

Reaching over, Minji hooked a finger onto the edge of his plate and dragged it over to her side. His eyes stared at the food for a moment before looking up at her nervously.

“Min…Ji…?”

She could visibly see him swallow hard and put his hands on his lap.

Maybe…this wasn’t such a good idea. However, she was determined to see it through for his sake. Stabbing a piece of strawberry from her plate with her fork, and then piercing the fork through his French toast sandwich, she cut a bite-size portion out of the corner. Minji reached over carefully.

“If you’re going to eat this much sugar, at least have something healthy with it.” She explained. “Don’t just give them all to me because you know I like them more than you do.”

“A-Ah, are you going to feed me, angel?” Saeran chuckled breathily, his anxiety seeming to fade. “I thought you were mad at me, for a second…”

“I will be mad if you only give me the healthy things and neglect yourself.” Minji pouted, wagging her fork just a bit. “Your hard work is going to get cold.”

He put his hands on the table to balance himself and leaned over, taking the offered food into his mouth. “You should eat too.”

“If you don’t take care of yourself, neither will I~”

Minji knew she was being a bit of a brat, but it didn’t matter when it concerned his well-being.

Saeran got up and sat down in the seat adjacent to her instead. He reached over, grabbing his abandoned utensils, and then put her plate between them. “Then we’ll just have to take care of each other.”

Breakfast carried on slower than normal. Saeran feeding Minji, and her feeding him. The both of them shared the fruit on Minji’s plate while they ate the French toast made to their personal taste. She tried a bite of Saeran’s, overloaded with warm chocolate spread. She immediately shoved a whole strawberry in her mouth to counter the sweetness. He only smiled at her in amusement, eating the same French toast with ease.

Minji stared at him blankly. He would fit right into the family…

She blushed at the thought, turning away frantically. Her eyes caught the wall clock. “I-I’ll do the dishes, since you cooked. I’ll get them later, so just leave them in the sink.”

“I could stay a bit and do them.” Saeran offered, standing up after her and gathering the dishes. “Jumin never specified a time I had to be at C&R.”

“No, no, it’s fine. Do you want to use my car?” Minji paused. “Actually, do you even know how to drive?”

“Hmm… Yes?” She raised an eyebrow at him. “I’ve driven, but I don’t have a license to prove it.”

“Right. Okay.”

“Why don’t you use the car to go to school?” Saeran questioned, following her out into the main room.

“It’s such a hassle to drive around in the city, especially if there’s not guaranteed parking. At least, C&R has a parking complex.”

“I’ve been wondering,” He trailed off, sitting on the couch as he watched her pack up her backpack. “Why do you own that car? I haven’t once seen you use it.”

“Graduation gift from my brothers. They said I should visit ‘Jun, who’s three hours away at our company’s plant and testing facility. Or I could easily drive to the airport to go home.” Minji shrugged, carefully slipping her laptop into her bag.

“Your home is on Jeju Island, right?”

“Yep. That’s where our company headquarters is, so it’s only natural to live nearby.”

“Hehh~ A souvenir sweets and confectionary company right in the middle of one of Korea’s most popular tourist destinations.” Saeran whistled.

“The entire ground floor of the company is the biggest store, bakery, and cafe we have.” Minji giggled. “You should come home with me, someday. I think you’d enjoy yourself.”

“Definitely, one day.” He smiled sweetly.

Minji blushed slightly again but was nonetheless happy. She walked around the apartment, picking up this and that to bring with her to class. Going into her bedroom, she picked up two cell phones from the night stand.

“You should call Jumin for a driver. We were pretty lucky, yesterday, that no one seemed to recognize you.”

“Should I ask them to drop you off?” Saeran hummed, catching the device she gently tossed to him.

Minji laughed nervously. “I wonder how much attention a car like that would attract…”

“I don’t feel right letting you ride the train when I can do this for you.” He said seriously. “And I want to stay with you a bit more.”

Leaning over the back of the couch, she pressed her lips to his. He still tasted strongly of chocolate spread.

“Fine. I’ll suffer unwanted attention for you.” She joked softly as she pulled away.

As Saeran called Jumin, Minji logged into the RFA chatroom to see if she could catch Yoosung.

 

 **ZEN:** Good morning~

 **Minji:** Good morning ^^

 **Minji:** Has Yoosung logged in yet, today?

 **ZEN:** Yoosung?

 **ZEN:** Awake before 10? Are we talking about the same person?

 **Minji:** Ah… ^^;

 **Minji:** I guess that’s true… He has been playing a lot of LOLOL late at night.

 **ZEN:** I can give him a call if you need him for something?

 **Minji:** It’s fine. I was just wondering if he was going to go to his classes today.

 **ZEN:** Hmm…

 **ZEN:** -_-

 **ZEN:** I wonder…

 **Minji:** Haha, anyways, how are rehearsal, nowadays?

 **ZEN:** You mean now that everyone has been exposed to my beautiful face?

 **ZEN:** ☆⌒（＊＾∇゜）v

 **Minji:** Of course, Mr. Handsome~

 **Minji:** How are Zekyll and White coming along?

 **ZEN:** It’s getting easier to switch characters.

 **ZEN:** I think all of my hard work is paying off.

 **ZEN:** The director says it’s also getting more natural.

 **Minji:** That’s great!

 **Minji:** And it’s all thanks to Yoosung~ ;)

 **ZEN:** Pfft-! LOLOLOL

 **ZEN:** I needed a good laugh. Thanks.

 **ZEN:** I will never forget him in that wig lol

 **Minji:** Elizabun was kind of cute, though~

_Saeran has entered the chatroom_

**Saeran:** The car is here.

 **Minji:** Okay~

 **Minji:** Talk to you later, Zen!

 **ZEN:** Wait, you two are together?

 **ZEN:** So early in the morning?!

 **ZEN:** (;｀O´)o

 **ZEN:** Saeran! You didn’t do anything weird to her, right?!

 **ZEN:** Minji, men are all wolves!

 **ZEN:** You can tell me, don’t be afraid.

 **Minji:** ^^;;; Umm…

 **Saeran:** ….

 **Saeran:** That’s between us, don’t you think?

 **Saeran:** Unless this is your way of asking to be invited into our enjoyable night?

 **ZEN:** ( ﾟoﾟ)

 **ZEN:** N-N-N-NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 **Saeran:** Too bad.

_Saeran has left the chatroom_

**ZEN:** Y-Y-You, come back here!

 **ZEN:** HEY!

 **ZEN:** Minji! Don’t tell me…

 **ZEN:** This isn’t against your will, is it?!?!

 **ZEN:** MINJI!!!!

_Minji has left the chatroom_

Minji looked up, sure that her face was bright red. Saeran only chuckled, standing up from the couch and offering her a hand.

“A joke, a joke.” He teased. Leaning down to her ear once she was standing, he whispered, “Except if that’s what you want. But I’m not one to share, so you’ll have to work hard to convince me.”

She choked on her breath, pushing his lips away from her in a fluster. “S-Saeran! Beige doesn’t suit you, today! Go back to black!”

He laughed again, putting a respectable distance between them. “We’re making Mr. Kim wait for us. Let’s hurry.”

Saeran’s personality was shifting towards the darker side of the spectrum, but it seemed like he had control, so she didn’t worry about it any further. He was just having fun… at her expense…

He picked up her backpack before Minji could protest and went to the front door to put on his shoes.

“Whose fault is that…?” She grumbled, absently picking a pair out of the small shoe closet right by the door.

Saeran took the shoes out of her hand and knelt down in front of her. “Certainly not mine, love.”

“You’re so…” Minji trailed off. She let him gently pick up her foot by the ankle and slip on her shoes for her. He was a fairytale prince and the school’s bad boy wrapped into a cute, little package. After a kiss to both of her shins, her shoes were in place. “Thank you.”

“Anything for you.” Saeran sang, standing back up to full height and kissing her lips.

Minji didn’t want the contact to end. She lingered just a little longer, however, in the back of her mind, she knew she was going to be late to her class. “We… have to go.”

“I don’t want to, either.”

Even though he was the one to say that, Saeran pulled away first and interlaced their fingers to lead her out of the door.

“Did you forget anything?” Minji asked. “Well, you can just come in and get it, I guess. You know the passcode to the door.”

Unexpectedly, he pressed his lips to her temple. Without missing a beat, he tugged her down the stairs and out of the apartment complex. The car that Mr. Kim was driving was, luckily, an inconspicuous sedan.

C&R certainly had many company cars…

“Good morning. To confirm, I will be dropping Ms. Chae at SKY University first, correct?”

“Good morning.” Minji greeted, sliding into the car as Saeran held the door open. “Yes, if you will, please.”

“Morning.” Saeran said.

Once they were settled, Minji asked, “Why are you going to C&R today?”

“Jumin wants to discuss the intelligence unit’s next course of action.” He sighed forlornly. “The agency didn’t give us any clues so we have to figure out where to look next.”

“The more heads the better?”

He nodded, closing his eyes and leaning his head back onto the headrest.

The car ride was silent after that. Saeran absently played with her fingers while she watched the passing scenery.

“I’ll miss you.” He said softly, kissing her softly one last time.

“I’ll miss you, too.” Minji replied. “Have a good day.”

“You, especially.”

She giggled breathily, poking his chest. “Thanks, Mr. Kim!”

“You’re very welcome, Ms. Chae.”

With that, Minji exited the car and closed the door. She waved as Mr. Kim pulled out of school grounds.

Minji clapped her hands once in determination. First, her classes. Then, she’d try to find Yoosung amongst the thousands of students roaming around the very large campus.

…She suspected that it was going to be a tiring day.

Minji logged into the RFA messenger periodically, hoping to catch her prey. It was nearing four in the afternoon when she finished all of her classes for the day. Unexpectantly, walking to the building where most club activities were held, she spotted a blonde in the crowd. Which wasn’t so strange, as lots of people were blonde, or, at least, pretended to be blonde with hair dye.

She brought up her phone and zoomed in, taking a quick picture.

Silently laughing in amusement, Minji moved away. She carefully maneuvered to the other side, all the while vigilantly watching her target looking down at his phone. She took another picture.

 

_Minji has entered the chatroom_

**Saeran:** Oh, you’re here. I was about to text you.

 **Saeran:** I caught Yoosung for you.

 **Yoosung:** What do you mean you caught me?!

 **Jaehee Kang:** He means, because his girlfriend was looking for you, he locked you in the chat room.

 **Yoosung:** …

 **Yoosung:** EHHHHH?!

 

Minji watched Yoosung frantically try to press things on his phone screen to no avail. She patiently waited on a bench.

 

 **Yoosung:** I can’t log out!

 **Yoosung:** ‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚

 **Jaehee Kang:** … A terrible use of C&R Intelligence Unit owned computers…

 **Jaehee Kang:** However, I find this oddly romantic…

 **Minji:** You should take breaks ^^ It’s not healthy to be focused all the time.

 **Yoosung:** ‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚

 **Yoosung:** But, Minji, why were you looking for me?

 **Yoosung:** ｢(ﾟﾍﾟ)

 **Minji:** Hmm…

 **Minji:** I was going to ask if you were going to class, but…

 **Yoosung:** But?

 **Minji:** You seem to have a stalker.

 **Yoosung:** What!?

 **Jaehee Kang:** A stalker?

 **Minji:** <photo of Yoosung outside, southern direction>

 **Yoosung:** (〇o〇；)

 

Minji saw him whip his head up in the direction where she first took the picture. He cautiously looked back down at his phone while retreating into the school building. After a few seconds, she got up and followed him at a distance.

 

 **Yoosung:** Wh-Where did you get that?!

 **Minji:** Your stalker, of course.

 **Minji:** <photo of Yoosung outside, northern direction>

 **Yoosung:** (〇o〇；)

 **Yoosung:** (〇o〇；)

 

Yoosung seemed to hasten his steps, going into one of the rooms. From outside, Minji heard his stuttering voice.

“Yo, Yoosung, you finally decided to join us!”

“Y-Yeah! Hahaha…”

She suppressed a bubbling giggle while peering around the open doorway. Taking another quick picture, she withdrew a little further away.

 

 **Yoosung:** Minji!?

 **Yoosung:** MINJI!!

 **Yoosung:** ‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚

 **Jaehee Kang:** … I have a feeling I know where this is going.

 **Saeran:** I believe you are correct ^^

 **Jaehee Kang:** You’re not going to stop her…?

 **Saeran:** She’s having harmless fun. It makes me happy to see her happy.

 **Yoosung:** ‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚

 **Yoosung:** What are you guys talking about?!

 **Minji:** <photo of Yoosung in clubroom>

 **Yoosung:** ‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚

 **Yoosung:** ‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚

 **Yoosung:** ‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚

 **Yoosung:** What do they want???

 **Minji:** You’re not even going to ask if they like you?

 **Minji:** Σ(･口･)

 **Minji:** Haven’t you been whining that your first guest was Zen?

 **Saeran:** Minji…

 **Saeran:** I think he’s too scared now… ^^;;;

 **Yoosung:** Then why can’t they just come talk to me?

 **Yoosung:** ‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚

 

Ah~ Maybe Saeran was right. Minji made her way back to the clubroom and peered inside. Yoosung had his back turned towards the door as he stared down at his phone resting on the table next to a coffee machine.

Creeping up behind him, Minji put her hands up, ready to lightly slap his shoulders. “Boo!”

The blonde boy let out a high-pitched screech, nearly jumping three feet in the air. The entire population inside the clubroom turned to them. Minji put a hand up to cover her mouth as she suppressed her amused laugh.

“Minji, what are you doing here? Are you joining us, too? And what are you doing to poor Yoosung?” A male asked as he came up to them.

“Ahaha, sorry to disturb club activities~” Minji crooned. In front of her was an upperclassman from one of her business courses. “I was just messing with him. I didn’t realize he scared so easily, though.”

“Yoosung, you know her?”

“I-I-I-! She-!” Yoosung stuttered, his face flaming red. “What are you doing here?”

Minji pouted. “I just said I came to mess with you~”

“I-I meant here, at SKY.” The blonde corrected.

Her upperclassman answered for her, “What do you mean? She’s a student here, of course she’ll be at SKY.”

“You’re a student here?!”

“Hush, hush,” Minji scolded lightly. “Let’s leave before we distract these guys more. See you in class!” She took Yoosung’s wrist and started to drag him back outside.

“Don’t do anything to his fingers, Minji. I need his LOLOL skills!” Her upperclassman warned.

“Okay~” She called back while leaving.

“W-Wait, you were my stalker?!” Yoosung finally asked.

“You weren’t really this scared, were you?” Minji couldn’t help but smile. “Come on, why would a stalker give up their photos to anyone?”

“That’s not the problem!”

She laughed nervously, “Sorry. You’re much more gullible than I thought. I was sure you’d never fall for a trick like that.”

Yoosung huffed, looking away. “…You’re really a student here?”

“How mean~ You think I can’t get into this school?” Minji pouted as she led him to the bench she sat on earlier. “I can work hard, too…”

“A-Ah…!” He stuttered, hastily sitting next to her. “Th-That’s not what I meant!”

“Then…” Minji trailed off and brought out her phone. “Want to see if we can visit ‘Ranny?”

“’Ranny…?”

“You look like you’re done with classes.” She looked up to confirm her suspicion. He nodded. “Then, for being mean, let’s hang out. He’s at C&R, so we can go see Jaehee and Jumin, too.”

 

 **Minji:** Are you guys busy?

 **Jaehee Kang:** Yes…

 **Saeran:** The intelligence unit is still brainstorming.

 **Minji:** Can Yoosung and I come visit?

 **Minji:** Maybe we can all have dinner together?

 **Yoosung:** Oh! I want to try some French food!

 **Jaehee Kang:**???

 **Minji:** Please? ^^

 **Minji:** Yoosung and I can hang out in the lobby until you’re finished with work.

 **Minji:** It’ll take some time to get there, too.

 **Saeran:** Jaehee?

 **Jaehee Kang:** (´-﹏-`；)

 **Jaehee Kang:** Don’t look at me like that, Saeran.

 **Saeran:** Like what?

 **Jaehee Kang:** Just… staring…

 **Jaehee Kang:** Expecting…

 **Saeran:**?

 **Yoosung:** You two lovebirds…

 **Minji:** Maybe Jumin will let you finish early so we can have a group dinner!

 **Jaehee Kang:** Alright. You two may visit C&R, but please be aware that you will have to entertain yourselves without disturbing anyone.

 **Jaehee Kang:** I’ll inform Mr. Han.

 

Minji and Yoosung high-fived and cheered together.

“Free food! Free food!” He chanted, standing up from the bench and offering her a hand up. “Ah! I still can’t log out!”

“He’ll probably fix it in a few minutes.” Minji shrugged. “Any idea how we actually get there?”

“EHH?! Why did you even suggest this if you didn’t know?!”

The two young, university students ended up relying on their map apps to make their way through the train system and into the business district of Seoul.

Yoosung looked around at all of the tall buildings now surrounding them. “Which one do you think is C&R?”

“I suspect the tallest and fanciest one…” Minji replied, pointing upwards. “Like that glass skyscraper with shiny gold letters that says C&R International.”

“Gold edging, too.” He sighed. “C&R is really…”

Yoosung held the door for her before going inside himself. A woman in professional clothing, presumable the lobby secretary, quickly came up to them.

“Are you students named Ms. Chae and Mr. Kim?”

The blonde seemed frozen in place, so Minji answered for them with a bright smile. “Yes, that’s us.”

“Wonderful. Mr. Han has been expecting you. If you’ll please follow me.” The secretary led them pass the security system using her ID card and towards the elevator. “Chief Assistant Kang will be ready to greet you at your arrival.”

“Thank you.” Minji said, bowing slightly in gratitude, making Yoosung do the same.

Once the elevator doors closed and they were alone, Yoosung let out a relieved breath. “That surprised me…”

“I didn’t expect such a personal welcome, either.” She giggled, fidgeting only slightly.

Even though C&R never ventured into the food and confectionary industry, Minji felt like she was walking into enemy territory. It was too big of a company to not feel a little intimidated. C&R even almost went into the arts field, if it wasn’t for the former prime minister – something that they didn’t show any interest in before. Who was to say they wouldn’t suddenly decide to challenge her family’s company?

“But you looked totally at home.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t because she was pretty?” Minji teased, poking his cheek.

Yoosung was still spluttering as the elevator ascended to their designated floor and opened its doors.

“Are you all right…?”

“Good evening, Jaehee! Yoosung thinks the secretary downstairs is hot.”

“I-I-! Don’t put words in my mouth!” The blonde cried, his face blushing bright red.

Minji stuck out her tongue playfully. She quickly put the appendage back into her mouth and looked behind her as she felt someone’s arms rest on her shoulders.

“You’re in a playful mood today.”

“Saeran! Stop her!” Yoosung whined loudly.

Jaehee sighed, adjusting her glasses. “This was a bad idea…”

“But Yoosung is just so cute~” Minji laughed while putting her hands up. “I’ll stop now.”

“Your curiosity likes to get you into trouble. Don’t push him too far, love.” Saeran whispered into her ear, too softly to be heard by the others.

“But satisfaction brought the cat back.” She countered innocently.

“Ugh, love birds.” Yoosung groaned again, turning away to follow Jaehee.

“Mr. Han said you two can stay in his office. It is large enough that you will be comfortable and there is little you can do that will disturb him.”

Saeran slipped his arms away from Minji’s shoulders and grabbed her hand.

“Weren’t you working, Saeran?” She asked, looking up at her boyfriend.

“We’ve tried everything possible.” Jaehee answered for him. “We’re hoping a small break would refresh our minds.”

Minji felt Saeran squeeze her hand a little tighter. She put her other hand around their joined ones, hoping to provide a little comfort.

“Good evening, Minji, Yoosung. Make yourselves comfortable before our evening meal.” Jumin greeted, standing up from his desk when the group entered his office.

“Whoa, I’ve never been in here.” Yoosung looked around with wide eyes. “Look at this view!”

“Let me know if you require anything.” Jaehee said, already going back out the door.

Minji watched the older woman in concern. “You’re not taking a break with us?”

“I still have a lot of work to finish.” The assistant sighed, opening the door. “I leave Saeran in your care, Minji.”

“You give her a lot of work, Jumin…” Yoosung whispered.

“Half of her responsibilities as the head of the intelligence unit has been handed over to Saeran, as of today. If you are that worried, her work has been reduced significantly.” Jumin answered, not looking up from his paperwork.

The blonde made a questioning noise, turning back to stare out of floor to ceiling window. “…That’s still more than just being your assistant.”

“Wait, handed over to Saeran? You didn’t tell me that.” Minji piped up. “I thought you didn’t want to hack anymore?”

“…Just… until we find my brother.” Saeran admitted slowly, sitting down on the leather couch Jumin had in his office. He tugged her hand so she sat next to him.

The businessman, once again, didn’t look up as he replied, “An indefinite contract that goes against everything I have learned, but I have made an exception for family.”

“Thank you. I really appreciate it.” Saeran said.

“Think nothing of it. Only do your best to bring our member back.”

“What exactly did you guys do, today? Jaehee said you tried everything.” Yoosung interrupted.

Saeran looked down to his lap. “Hacked here and there. Looked around for similar traces… If he… If he’s out there, somewhere… He has get by somehow…”

Minji tilted her head a bit, lost in thought. “Then why don’t we revert the RFA chat room to Seven’s coding and wait?”

“Wait?” Jumin asked, finally looking up.

“He has a tough time infiltrating Saeran’s code, so he probably won’t be trying to test his luck. I think he’s a good person and he genuinely likes us, so I believe he’ll check in on us eventually. All we need to do is give him a code he knows like the back of his hand so he doesn’t risk exposing himself in the meantime. Maybe he’ll see that Saeran is the administrator for the messenger now and come back to question us.” Minji explained. “And… well… I doubt anyone is really trying to hack into the messenger. Even if they are, Saeyoung’s security is still top notch and Saeran can catch it before anything happens.”

She felt Saeran turn slightly and press his lips to the side of her head.

Jumin folded his hands on his desk. “Can it be done, Saeran?”

“Sure, easy. I’ve studied his pattern for months.”

“While we wait, we can continue searching with other methods.” The businessman nodded.

“I’ll get to work, then.” Saeran exhaled, getting up from his seat. “Brilliant, as always, angel”

“No, it was just a thought.” Minji denied with a wave of her hand.

“I will have a check written for you for your contribution.” Jumin said nonchalantly as he looked back to his work.

“No, it’s fine, really!” She argued with a fluster.

“Any reward you do want?” Saeran asked, patting her head lightly.

Minji hummed in thought. “Can I have a piece of candy?”

“Candy?” Yoosung piped up incredulously. “Huh?! How’d you know he had some in his pocket? Why do you have candy in your pocket?!”

“There was some missing from the jar on my coffee table.” Minji giggled. Saeran blushed slightly as he unwrapped the hard candy and held it out. He carefully pushed the candy out of the wrapper and allowed it to slip between Minji’s lips.

“…Can I have one?” Yoosung asked tentatively.

Saeran nodded, reaching back into his pocket and producing another piece of hard candy. He gently tossed it to the blonde.

“Good luck.” Minji cheered as her boyfriend left the office. “We should call Zen.”

“You think he’ll pick up?” Yoosung wondered, plopping into the seat next to her. “Isn’t he at rehearsal?”

“Maybe we should visit the chat room first…”

 

_Minji has entered the chatroom_

_Yoosung has entered the chatroom_

**Minji:** Hmm… No one.

 **Yoosung:** ZEN!

 **Yoosung:** ZEEEEEEN!!!

 **Minji:** A little louder lol

 **Yoosung:** ZEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNN!!!!!!!!

_ZEN has entered the chatroom_

**Minji:** O.O

 **Yoosung:**!

 **Yoosung:** ZEN!

 **ZEN:** I could hear my fans’ passionate call and I had to reply!

 **Yoosung:** -_-

 **ZEN:** Lol you’re right. Rehearsal just ended and I came in to see what was up with everyone today.

 **Minji:** We’re all at C&R~

 **ZEN:** ….Why?

 **Minji:** Yoosung and I were already together, so we wanted to see if we could get everyone together for dinner.

 **Minji:** Jaehee and Jumin are here, of course. And Saeran got called in, too.

 **Minji:** Are you free right now?

 **ZEN:** You and Yoosung were together?

 **Yoosung:** Yeah! She found me at SKY!

 **Yoosung:** (〇o〇；)

 **ZEN:** Wait, wait, back up.

 **ZEN:** You went to school, Yoosung?

 **Yoosung:** …

 **Yoosung:** ┗(｀皿´)┛

 

The time passed by quickly. Soon enough, Jumin declared that he was finished with work, which meant that Jaehee could also call it quits for the day. Saeran finished updating the RFA app in little to no time and continued to search through the dark webs for any signs.

Zen joined the group closer to dinnertime, saying that he didn’t want to spend more time than he had to with the CEO-in-line.

“Where should we go this evening?” Jumin asked, adjusting his tie as he settled into the backseat of the car. “I hear there is a famous chef from Italy visiting.”

“Yo, jerk, not all of us can afford five-star luxury.” Zen growled.

“Money is of no concern for me. All you need to do is ask.”

“How about a nice, commoners restaurant?” Minji suggested with a giggle, interrupting the building spat. “You’re the only one dressed for a Michelin star eatery tonight, anyways, Jumin.”

“If you insist. Are there chefs visiting those restaurants as well?”

“Listen here, trust fund kid-!”

“This is the first time we’ve been able to relax together as the RFA. Let’s just enjoy it, neh?” Minji looked at the actor with pleading eyes, her voice acquiring a cute tone.

Zen leaned back in his seat, looking conflicted. “Of course, babe. Sorry.”

“And Jumin, I’m sure you’ll find it a good, new experience. It’s important to know your consumers in all settings so you can conform to their convenience. C&R might not be in the food industry, but you can observe other things like fashion, or find out what or who is on the lips of the common folk.”

“It is uncertain when I will get this opportunity again.” Jumin agreed with a nod.

“Minji sure is scary sometimes.” Yoosung whispered.

“Yes. Last time, she worked her magic in a similar fashion.” Jaehee exhaled in relief.

Minji saw Saeran shift his eyes to look at her briefly. She winked before going back to pacifying the dueling duo.

“Probably used to it.” Saeran said, absently rubbing his thumb on the back of Minji’s hand resting on his leg. “Her oldest brother is a year older than Jumin, and her other brother is the same age as Zen.”

“Minji is fairly charismatic, anyways, despite the similarity.” Jaehee mentioned.

Yoosung leaned back deeply. “Well, I’m just glad my ears aren’t bleeding from Zen’s yelling.”

Minji smiled in satisfaction as the atmosphere settled down. She leaned her head onto Saeran’s shoulder and relaxed.

She didn’t mind being the peacekeeper. Deep down, she was sure that Zen and Jumin truly cared for each other. They just needed to open up and understand the other – even though she was also certain that would take quite some time.

Minji hoped more carefree days would find her new friends.


	3. To Convince Oneself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Month 1, Day 5
> 
> Like a code, the parameters were being abided to. Minji’s actions were not out of the ordinary.

Month 1, Day 5

Saeran let out a breath as he slowly blinked his eyes open. He was laying on his side, his hands curled by his chest. He had an unobstructed view of the other side of the bed, which was empty.

Unused.

In the silent darkness of the room, Saeran continued to stare blankly. He clenched his fists tighter, bringing them closer to his body. He felt somehow empty. Incomplete.

Knowing that sleep was going to keep eluding him, he sat up, allowing the covers to slip from his body. Looking at the digital clock hanging on the wall, Saeran sighed. Four in the morning. It wasn’t unusual, for him to be awake at such hours. As Mint Eye’s sole hacker, he spent many nights without sleep. However, that was behind him. His past. Now, in the present, his mind was restless. Conjuring up memories – warping them into constant nightmares.

It was rare, but with her by his side, Saeran found that he could sleep through the night. If not the entire evening, then for more than a couple hours at a time – unlike at this moment. Minji’s mere presence calmed his thoughts greatly and put his whole body at ease.

Letting out another despondent breath, he got out of bed.

He missed her.

Picking up his phone, Saeran brushed his thumb across the blackened screen. Minji was asleep. Most definitely. He wanted to call her, to hear her voice… He dropped his hand to his side, pushing up his hair with his free hand while making his way out of Saeyoung’s bedroom.

It was only an assumption, but Saeran was sure his brother wouldn’t mind him using the bed. Despite if it was only out of necessity, they shared much smaller bedding and blankets together in their childhood. Cuddled much closer than even he and Minji for warmth during the cold days, the sick days, and the cruel days.

Saeran stepped into the computer room. Lost in his thoughts, he ran his fingers across the edges of the computer monitor. He hated his task. He hated that he was highly skilled at such a thing. However, for the sake of his brother… For the sake of himself… He would continue to hack. Saeran would hack into every corner of the world until he found Saeyoung.

He set his phone down beside the keyboard, deciding to call Minji to wish her a good morning when the time of day was more appropriate. She always did worry about his health, so he would neglect to inform her that he has slept poorly the past couple of nights. For her peace of mind.

He missed her.

Saeran worked from Saeyoung’s home.

Minji studied in the city, where her new, temporary home was located.

He wished he could go home… Back to her side.

Shaking his head to suppress the thoughts for the time being, Saeran got to work. He double – triple – checked the RFA application’s server. Nothing had changed. Biting his lip, Saeran ignored the facts in front of him and continued to hope. He would continue this grueling duty for as long as he needed to.

Before he realized, the sun rose above the horizon. As there were no windows in Saeyoung’s computer room, the interior remained dark. Saeran typed in one last line of code before picking up his cell phone.

When did it become so late in the morning?

His heart thudded painfully, knowing that Minji’s first morning class already started.

Saeran opted to send her a text message, wishing her a good day and telling her that he loved her.

Stretching his arms above his head and arching his back, he felt his aching spine pop in a few places. Inspecting his running code one last time, Saeran stood from the chair. He got himself a simple breakfast of toast and an orange, ruffling his hair out of his eyes all the while. He was still clad in his sleepwear and had yet to start his morning routine.

Saeran groaned, toast clamped between his teeth as he slouched down in the kitchen chair. His feet bumped into the legs of the chair on the other side of the table.

Maybe he’d call Minji later to ask if he could go over and make her dinner…

Motivation successfully acquired, Saeran pushed himself back into a proper position and finished up his meager breakfast. He picked his outfit carefully – hoping to charm his lover – and went into the bathroom to freshen up.

When Saeran finished getting ready for the day ahead, he went back into the computer room where he left his phone. His eyes roamed over the various numbers and letters displayed on the multiple monitors, checking for any strange or faulty coding.

There were none. His codes were nearly perfect. After all, that used to be his sole reason to live.

He hummed in disappointment when he noticed that Minji had yet to text anything back. Even though Saeran checked the chat room logs earlier and found no signs of her logging in, perhaps someone else knew where she was.

 

_Saeran has entered the chatroom_

**Jumin Han:** Hello, Saeran.

**Jumin Han:** Have you found any traces as of late?

**Yoosung:** Hi!

**Saeran:** Hello. No, the RFA app turned up clean. I’m still searching for signatures.

**Yoosung:** Oh… T_T

**Jumin Han:** It has only been a couple days since this chat room was altered. Let’s give him more time.

**Saeran:** Yes. That is the best option we have…

**Saeran:** By the way, have either of you seen Minji today?

**Yoosung:** Minji?

**Yoosung:** ｢(ﾟﾍﾟ)

**Yoosung:** Wouldn’t you know better than us?

**Jumin Han:** Just because they are lovers, does not mean they must know the other’s whereabouts at all times.

**Yoosung:** Hmm… I don’t know… If I had a girlfriend, I would want to know everything about her.

**Jumin Han:** That is different from knowing daily activities.

**Yoosung:** But wouldn’t you want to be with her all the time?

**Jumin Han:** Even romantic partners wish for time for themselves.

**Jumin Han:** And I do not approve of living in the same quarters before marriage.

**Saeran:** …

**Jumin Han:** Apologies, Saeran. I have yet to answer your question, however, I regret to inform you that I have not spoken to Minji today.

**Yoosung:** Neither have I…

**Yoosung:** AHHH! Is that really the time?!

**Jumin Han:** Yes, it is almost eleven in the morning.

**Yoosung:** I have to get to class to meet my group for our project!

**Yoosung:** (〇o〇；)

**Yoosung:** BYEEEEE!

**Saeran:** Wait, Yoosung.

**Yoosung:** Yeah?

**Saeran:** If you see Minji at school… can you tell me?

**Yoosung:** Sure, but why can’t you just call her phone?

**Yoosung:** You two didn’t get into a fight, did you?

**Yoosung:** ｢(ﾟﾍﾟ)

**Saeran:** No... We did not argue…

**Yoosung:** Hmm… We don’t have any classes together, but I’ll tell you if I see her.

**Yoosung:** Oh! I can stop by the coffee club later and ask an upperclassman we both know. He’s in a class of hers, I think.

**Yoosung:** Or maybe he would know some of her friends?

**Saeran:** Thanks. I appreciate it.

**Yoosung:** Of course!

**Yoosung:** Yikes! I really have to run now!

**Yoosung:** Later!!!!

_Yoosung has left the chatroom._

**Jumin Han:** Is she not answering her phone?

**Saeran:** Yes… But she has a busy schedule today, so I’m sure it is just her school work that is holding her up.

**Jumin Han:** I see.

**Jumin Han:** I will inform you if I ever make contact with her, as well.

**Saeran:** Thank you.

 

That’s right. She told him last night when they were talking over the phone that she had a lot to do today.

And Minji said so, herself – it wasn’t strange for her to disappear for a little while. That was the reason why none of her family members worried about her whereabouts for the ten days she was without communication to anywhere besides within Mint Eye and the RFA chat room.

If there was no prior engagement, emergency, or urgent matter, no news from her was good news.

If a call was missed, she would call back within 24 hours. A text message or email sent to her? Within 48 at worse.

Saeran knew her patterns. He studied her carefully before determining her to be the best candidate for Mint Eye’s special missionary.

Minji had independence from her family, no longer being coddled as the youngest and only female the moment she moved to Seoul on her own seven months ago. Respecting her decisions that were similar to her brothers before her, her family left her to determine her own path in life all the while supporting her from behind.

And… well… The original plan Ray was going to propose to Savior was to convert Minji into a believer and absorb her brothers into the cult. Rika would then have a steady income from Minji’s family corporation.

The plan went down the drain within the first four days of Minji being at Mint Eye when he fell head over heels for her.

In any case, she was probably fine.

Like a code, the parameters were being abided to. Minji’s actions were not out of the ordinary.

Saeran held in his breath for a moment before releasing it along with the tension in his body.

Minji was fine.

While he waited for her, he would occupy his mind with finding his brother.

And just like that, the next time Saeran looked up from the monitors, it was already five in the evening. He finally took notice of the notification light his phone was continuously flashing. His heart jumped in anticipation as he grabbed the device only for it to come crashing down to the pit of his stomach when he read the text messages.

 

_From Yoosung: He said that Minji didn’t come to class today._

_From Yoosung: Did she get sick? ><_

Sick?

Minji sounded completely fine last night while they were talking… However, illnesses often took over the body overnight. It wasn’t impossible…

Saeran quickly thanked Yoosung and got up from his seat. He put his phone against his ear, opting to just call his girlfriend in the off chance she would pick up.

The ringing continued and continued until he was automatically sent to her voicemail system.

Hanging up without leaving a message, Saeran grabbed what he needed and left Saeyoung’s home. Without a license, Saeran couldn’t use one of the many cars in the garage… not that he particularly wanted to…

Saeyoung’s cars were a bit too… eye catching.

He ended up walking some distance and hailed for a taxi to take him to Minji’s apartment.

When he arrived, even though Minji told him her passcode, he opted to ring the doorbell first. Saeran waited long enough for the neighbors to be suspicious if anyone was watching him. He couldn’t hear anyone inside, so he entered the code and cautiously peered inside – expecting the worse. His heart thumped rapidly against his ribs. Almost painfully.

Orderly.

Everything was tidy and in place, just like the last time he visited. Stepping inside, he took off his shoes and called out to her hesitantly, “Minji…? Are you here? You didn’t pick up so I came to see if you were okay…”

Having a look around, he truly didn’t find anything unusual – even after inspecting every last nook and cranny. If he were to say anything was out of place, it was the laptop that was resting on the coffee table, its charger plugged into it – as she usually brought it with her to school. Saeran guessed it must have been hours since it was plugged in, the charging light having turned off since the battery was now full.

Which meant that it has been hours since Minji was last in her apartment… Her backpack was missing, so she must’ve, at least, thought about going to class this morning…

He sat in front of the laptop, carefully unfolding it open.

Saeran swallowed thickly, suddenly nervous.

It was an invasion of privacy. It was absolutely wrong. He, especially, shouldn’t do this to the woman he loved with every cell in his body.

He couldn’t just track her phone for no reason.

And he shouldn’t hack into her computer to bypass the password.

Saeran prayed and silently begged that Minji would forgive him as he borrowed her phone cord and attached his phone to her computer. Getting into a high security piece of technology owned by the government or intelligence agency was a piece of cake. Getting into a normal, civilian, laptop was even easier.

After fortifying her laptop’s defenses so his, more or less, illegal activities couldn’t get traced back and cause Minji any trouble, Saeran started typing. He located the closest few cell towers that registered the pings her phone was emitting.

From there, he took control of her cell phone camera and had a look around to determine its location based on the broad area the cell towers provided. Luckily, it was facing towards the back wall, showing a certain symbol. Raising a questioning eyebrow, Saeran continued to hack. This time, he took control over a few security cameras inside the building he believed Minji’s phone was in. He hummed in both confusion and frustration.

Exiting out of his work and securely making any traces vanish, he set out to go retrieve the device.

It wasn’t too far from her apartment, only taking around half an hour to walk there. He opened the door, the person inside spotting him through the glass.

“What brings you here to the police station, kiddo?” The person behind the counter asked.

Saeran hummed uncertainly. “My girlfriend lost her cell phone this morning. We were hoping a good Samaritan brought it in?”

“Give it a call and we’ll see if it’s one of them.” The person reached down, procuring a basket with more than a few cellular devices inside.

Even though he knew the phone was there, Saeran humored the police officer and dialed Minji’s number. A cheerful little tune echoed out from the pile, followed by an unpleasant vibrating as plastic grated against plastic.

The police officer grabbed the only phone that was lit up and handed it over. “Very lucky. I’m happy to see good people still walking the streets.”

“Thank you very much.” Saeran replied, taking the device and bowing his head. “Yes, she is fortunate someone found it.”

“Keep it safe, now, you hear?”

“We will.”

Walking out of the small police station, Saeran inspected Minji’s phone. Her losing it was definitely the cause for not answering any text messages or calls. Perhaps it was the reason she didn’t go to class? She might be still out, looking around for it.

Saeran brushed his fingers over the bottom corner. A piece of the plastic case Minji had on her phone was now missing, a long crack running up the back of it. It must’ve taken quite a tumble… Luckily, the phone itself was left without any scratches.

The text messages and calls were left unread, so Minji must have lost her phone before he texted her this morning. Was she running late and the phone slipped out while she was rushing out to class?

Unlike her, but not impossible, he supposed.

She could have tried to find Yoosung and have the blonde alert him. Minji knew Saeran would track it down for her.

Well, it wasn’t the same day as when Minji found Yoosung on their university campus. The both of them likely had a different schedule from that day. If Minji couldn’t find Yoosung, she would most likely just look around by herself.

Saeran decided to go back to her apartment and cook her dinner.

Surely, she wasn’t stubborn enough to look for her phone past dark.


	4. Only One “Correct” Answer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Month 1, Day 5
> 
> Jumin did assure them that the former prime minister had no accomplices.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning  
> Please look at the tags before continuing.

Month 1, Day 5

Minji covered her mouth as she let out a long yawn. It was only just a little past five in the morning, but she was already dressed and ready for the day. Even the sun was still in the process of rising. She flicked the water off of her hands after washing her dishes from her breakfast of toast, scrambled eggs, and an orange.

Once the kitchen looked like it hadn’t even been used, Minji walked into the main room to start gathering her things for class.

“Shoot…” She whispered once she turned on her laptop. She had forgotten to plug it in last night while she was using it, so the battery was totally drained. “I’ll just have to go without it then…”

People still used pen and paper to write notes, right?

After attaching the charger to it, Minji packed away an extra notebook into her backpack and triple checked that she had writing utensils to use. She knew it wasn’t wise to keep technology plugged in, but she wanted it charged in case she needed it. This way, she could quickly come home, retrieve the laptop, and leave again.

Minji let out another yawn as she grabbed her phone. She stayed up far too late talking to Saeran last night. If it wasn’t for this group project, she’d still have a couple more hours to sleep. Alas, she was too curious for her own good and got lured into a cult. Now she was playing catch up so her part was up to par with her unfortunate group members.

With her work speed, and the vast amount of information available in SKY’s library, Minji calculated that she could get a good portion of it finished before meeting her group in class that day.

Giving her body one last, good stretch, she prepared to leave her apartment.

Minji wondered if Saeran was awake. She would be busy most of the day, so it was unlikely they could talk again until the evening.

If it were Mint Eye, she was sure he would be awake. However, their reality wasn’t at the religious cult in the middle of the mountains. That was the past. Their present was with the RFA; in each other’s lives lovingly.

Walking out of her apartment complex and towards the train station, Minji decided to drop the hand that held her phone to her side. He was trying to hide it, but Saeran hadn’t been sleeping well if the bags under his eyes said anything. In the off chance that he was resting peacefully, she didn’t want risk waking him up with a call or text message.

Minji wouldn’t bring it up if he didn’t want to talk about it, she trusted him to tell her if things got to be too much. Besides, he knew, now, that overworking wasn’t what was needed to validate himself any longer, which lightened her heart.

So lost in thought, the sudden instinct to look beside her sent a shiver down her spine. Just as she turned her head, a hand reached out from an alleyway between two buildings and grabbed her wrist, pulling her towards the shadows.

Minji stumbled a step before forcibly regaining her balance. The loud clattering of plastic hitting the ground registered in the back of her mind, but she ignored it. Muscle memory working in full gear, Minji lifted her back leg and performed a swift kick towards her attacker’s head. She didn’t spend years learning Taekwondo with her brothers for nothing.

Catching on her sleeve briefly, her attacker’s hand fell away. Carefully examining the situation, Minji took a small step back. Her attacker, a man in a suit, was now kneeling on the ground, looking irritated as he held his jaw. There were two other men behind him, deeper in the alleyway. The movement she caught in the corner of her eye warned her of other people coming from the sidewalk she was just walking on and blocking her exit.

She swallowed nervously, gathering as much courage as she could.

“Don’t look so angry, you’re the one attacking me at 5:30 in the morning.” Minji said in the most pleasant voice she could conjure up in such a situation.

“You will be coming with us.”

“Said every villain ever.” Minji chuckled nervously. She shifted her eyes to and fro as they got closer to her, circling her in. Looking at the group, they couldn’t be random thugs looking for who knew what. They were well off, their clothing prim and proper and their faces clean shaven without a single blemish.

She realized she was no match for five men by herself. Thus, she would have to use the element of surprise and her speed to get away.

All she needed was for the two men blocking the exit to let down their guard for just a moment. If she remembered correctly, a police station was only another twenty-minute walk from where she was. If she ran, it would be within view even quicker.

Minji didn’t know what they wanted, but she definitely wasn’t going to stick around to find out.

When eyes turned to watch the man kneeling on the floor get up, she took a leading step and roundhouse kicked the closest man to her. Landing her foot back on the ground, she jolted off, starting to run between the two men blocking her way.

She cursed her luck. Although she expected it, the men were also trained in some form of martial arts – their reflexes much quicker than the average person.

One of the men grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop harshly. Her feet tangled and bumped into her attacker’s. Minji started to fall, however her arm was still being held hostage. With the leverage, she opted to kick harshly at the man’s stomach. He grunted and coughed, dropping her to the ground.

Instinctively, Minji put an arm below her, taking the fall on her elbow. Before she could react further, someone pushed against her back, holding her to the ground.

“AAHH---mmmrppph!” She attempted to scream. Her mouth was quickly covered by a cloth.

Expecting the smell of chloroform, like in movies, Minji was surprised when she realized the cloth was dry – not soaked with the chemical.

The alternative scared her much more.

She let out a muffled yelp as she felt a pinch against her neck. Minji looked up, horror filling her eyes as one of them took away an empty syringe.

What was in that?

What was going to happen to her?

Minji could hear her blood pumping through her veins, undoubtedly causing the drug to move faster through her body. Even though her instincts told her to move, to fight – she stayed frozen. Fear gripped every cell in her body.

Soon enough, her vision started blacking out at the edges. No amount of blinking brought the light back. As her body succumbed to the drug and relaxed, tears welled up in her eyes.

“Sorry…Sae…”

 

The next time Minji opened her eyes, her surroundings changed drastically. She almost scoffed out loud. A typical abandoned building – the windows dirty and cracked, the wallpaper coming undone, the floor and sparse furniture covered in a thick layer of dust.

The high sun outside told Minji that it was after midday. She had been knocked out for a long time…

She wondered how far she was taken from her apartment…

Her wrists were tied behind the back of the chair she was put on. Her ankles in a similar predicament with the legs of the furniture. Minji shifted her body uncomfortably. Her ankles were tied much tighter than her wrists, nearly stopping the blood flow. She hid an amused smile, bending her head forward.

What kind of prey didn’t try to fight back?

Closing her eyes again, Minji tried to steady herself. Her mind was still foggy and her thoughts disoriented.

She was kidnapped at the crack of dawn.

Minji internally groaned. She couldn’t believe her luck in the past couple of weeks alone…

It was true, she was the one who put herself into that situation with Mint Eye. Saeran was right when he said her curiosity got her into trouble. However, she liked to think she was a good judge in character – even through a phone call. In the end, Minji never regretted going to the religious cult. She met Saeran, after all.

Now… Whose enemies were the ones that abducted her?

Hers?

Minji didn’t believe her family’s company, Sui-t Generis Korea, made anyone this livid. Nor have they ever absorbed smaller businesses. In their field, there wasn’t much competition in the first place – and they weren’t an international company, operating only in Korea. It wasn’t nearly overpowering enough to warrant this kind of violence…

Saeran’s?

She supposed it wasn’t impossible… Jumin did assure them that the former prime minister had no accomplices – at least, for the activities that were released into the media – but that didn’t mean someone couldn’t have slipped through their careful evaluation.

Minji hated to admit it, however, Saeran was sure to have many enemies. Many people keeping a careful eye on him to make sure nothing else was revealed. There were fans, and there were anti-fans. Supporters, non-supporters, those who had his name on their lips, and those who didn’t care for politics at all.

Perhaps they were Jumin’s? Or even Zen’s?

People who have seen her with them might believe that they would agree to some kind of ransom.

Muffled voices from beyond the thin walls of the room she was being kept in drew Minji out of her musings.

“You gave her too much of the sedative!”

“I’m not a doctor, how was I supposed to know that was too much?”

“If she dies before we get any information, this would have been a huge waste of time and we’d be more screwed over than we already are!”

“Cut it out, you two. Let’s just go see if she kicked the bucket. If she did, we have to figure out another way to get that data back.”

“Should’ve figured that working with that man was bad news.”

“The money was good, what could we do? Besides, all parties knew that the moment shit hit the fan, we’d throw each other under the bus, no matter how long we’ve worked together.”

“And that was for a fucking long time. Too long.”

“Ahh~ Good times~”

“Hardly.”

“Hah! You’re right.”

Minji noticed their voices getting louder – closer to the door.

“Hey! Girly-Girl! You awake yet?!”

The door opened harshly, revealing three of the men who attacked her so early in the morning.

“Watch it, this is an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere, you know? What if some wild animal comes in and eats her?”

“Ohh~ Look at that, she’s awake. See, I didn’t give her too much.”

Minji stared at them in an unamused, deadpanned manner.

“Look here, girl, you’re going to answer our questions and _maybe_ we’ll let you go, okay?” A man walked up to her and grabbed her chin to force her to look up at him.

“Are you still mad about that bruise she left on your jaw, Sung-Jin?” Another man chuckled lightly.

The third man snorted loudly in amusement. “Joonho sure was! Kicked straight in the temple and got knocked out. If he came with us, he’d definitely all be for killing her here and now.”

“Come here, Jongsu. I’ll release one of her legs so she can kick you to the hole you crawled out of. Girl is probably mad you drugged her, aren’t you?” Sung-Jin, the one who held her chin roughly, smirked. “I’ll allow it, just this once.”

“No way.” Jongsu huffed, looking over to the other man. “Don’t you want to get a punch or two in, Sanghun, while she’s all tied up?”

Sanghun waved his hand and rolled his eyes. “Only a fool would think a cornered animal wouldn’t fight back. I respect you, little miss. You have a pretty strong leg – made me lose my breath and everything.”

Minji raised an eyebrow. “Praise from you doesn’t make me happy in the least.”

“Still have that spirit, I see.” Sanghun shrugged. “Let’s see how long that holds out, hm?”

Sung-Jin let go of her chin, digging into the inner pocket of his suit. “Look here, girl.” He pulled out a few photographs, dropping them into her lap. “Which twin is that?”

Which twin?

Minji inspected the scattered photos.

Her and Saeran standing in front of the train station, him putting a flower on her ear. Her and Saeran sitting and having gelato. Her and Saeran walking around, hand-in-hand.

In any other situation, Minji would say the photos were beautifully candid – a happy relationship.

Picturesque.

“Well?” Jongsu prompted, sitting in a spare chair and leaning back. He put his foot on the side of the chair she sat on, the sole of his shoe grazing against her thigh. “The moment the one we were watching disappeared, this one appeared. Could be the other twin, but it could also be the one we were watching, y’know? A little bleach, some contact lenses, and bam.”

The one they were watching… Saeyoung?

So, he really did escape. And these were his enemies.

Despite being held captive, Minji felt a weight lift off of her shoulders. Saeran would be glad.

Apparently, she took too long to answer. Sung-Jin grabbed her chin, again. “Who’s your boy?”

Minji blinked innocently. “Why would I sell out my lover?”

A flash of anger in his eyes was all the warning she got. Minji felt the air rush out of her lungs, some of it catching in her throat and making her cough. The chair she sat on jarred backwards with the force of his kick into her abdomen, making Jongsu grunt as his foot was also sent off balance.

“We don’t have to do this the hard way.” Sung-Jin growled, grabbing her chin again. “Who’s your boy?”

Minji glared defiantly at him.

“How about a new question, then? Do you know where he is? Or how about the other one?” Sanghun asked instead. “He likes to make his traces vanish when we try to find out where he lives. If you tell us, we’ll let you go~”

“Who knows…?” Minji trialed off while catching her breath. “Interrogations are all the same. No matter who you bring in, someone with all of the information or someone who knows nothing, you’ll only accept the answer you’re looking for.”

“What are you rambling on about, huh?” Jongsu hissed, leaning forward in his chair and nailing her jaw bone with a bent finger harshly.

“I can keep saying ‘I don’t know, I don’t know,’ but you’ll never believe me. What if I actually don’t know? My lover is a look-alike – a doppelgänger – to the so-called twins you’re looking for.” Minji said, sounding like she was becoming bored. She yanked her chin out of Sung-Jin’s grip. “You’ll keep questioning until I say ‘that one is in Maldives’ or ‘my lover is so-and-so.’”

She really, truly, hoped Saeyoung was _not_ in Maldives.

Sanghun sighed, reaching into his pocket. “That’s why torture exists, little miss. You’re right, about us not stopping until you give us an answer we’re satisfied with. We’ll keep tormenting until all you can think about is what you do know and spit it out. Whether it’s ‘Saeyoung Choi is in Maldives’ or ‘I don’t know, just kill me,’ well, we’ll see.”

Sanghun stepped closer, opening a small switchblade in one elegant movement.

Minji squeaked out a choking sound, her voice jamming in her throat. Her body instinctively jerked forward only to be stopped by her bound wrists. The ropes scraped against her skin, though, the pain was ignored in lieu of the steel that easily glided into the flesh of her thigh.

She gasped out a breath, feeling as though her lungs have stopped responding. Hot sparks of pain were overriding her entire body.

Her head swam. A spreading, bright red liquid captured her vision.

Minji pleaded in her heart for the twins to stay hidden…

…For Saeran to run.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Sui Generis" definition - Unique  
> Sui-t (sweet) Generis. Get it~ A confectioneries company? xD  
> I'm bad at naming.


	5. No Matter What

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Month 1, Day 6
> 
> He would find her. He needed her to trust him, for just a little longer. Even if it ran his body to the ground and he collapsed in the end, as long as he could see her one last time – safe – he wouldn’t care.

Month 1, Day 6

It was past three in the morning.

Minji had yet to come home.

Saeran paced nervously, going between the main room and the kitchen. His eyes kept catching the sight of the, now cold, dinner still waiting on the dining table.

She wasn’t home.

She wasn’t this stubborn. She’d give up on her phone, by now.

One last spark of hope burst in his heart. Saeran quickly reached for his phone, shakily opening up a program. He stared, transfixed, on the screen before him. He strained his eyes to try and clearly see any kind of human form through the night’s darkness.

Minji was not at Saeyoung’s home. The security cameras picked up no movements nearby. And Minji had trouble getting through the security system without him, so it was unlikely she was inside.

Which meant…

…She wasn’t going to come home… was she?

Where did she go? Did she go to a friend’s place? Did her family have some kind of emergency and she left in a hurry? No, if those were the cases, she would have found a way to contact him, at least, even if it was a hassle. She didn’t run away, right? Abandon him? No, no, she wouldn’t do that. What happened to her? Did she get taken away? Was someone who took pleasure in murdering walking the streets?

Saeran swallowed hard, anxiety taking over – various gruesome scenarios conjuring up in his mind. Dizzily, he steadied himself against the couch.

…What should he do?

His thoughts were jumbled. His main supporter disappeared. His angel. His miracle.

His love.

Swallowing the lump in his throat again, Saeran fell back onto the couch. He shook his head to clear it before dialing a number on his phone and bringing it up to his ear.

Within the first couple of rings, the phone call was answered. _“Saeran. Is this an emergency? I’m sure you are aware of the time.”_

Saeran leaned his head onto the back of the couch, staring blankly at the ceiling. “Jumin… you said there was no one after me… right?”

_“That is what C &R has determined, yes. I will ask again, is something the matter?”_

“I… I’m at Minji’s apartment.” He paused. “She still hasn’t… made it home.”

_“…I see.”_ Even the ever steadfast Jumin took a moment to answer. _“Is she still not receiving phone calls?”_

“I found her phone at the police station, earlier… Even if she wanted to pick up our calls, she couldn’t.”

_“When was the last time you spoke to her? She didn’t mention going someplace?”_

“Twenty-six hours ago… was the last time I spoke to her…” Saeran felt his mind slowing to a stop – shutting down. “No… just school… I guess.”

He heard Jumin let out a breath on the other side of the phone. _“You do not sound alright. Her apartment, correct? I will send a car. Meet me at C &R. Time is of the essence.”_

Alright?

Of course, he wasn’t.

“Yeah, thanks…”

Saeran let his arm fall, hanging up the call. Leaning forward and putting his elbows on his knees, he rested his forehead on his clasped hands.

To the God that Saeyoung seemed to believe in… To anyone from an unknown world willing to listen to his plea…

This… Couldn’t be real. He felt like none of this was truly happening. It was a nightmare – a horror movie he was watching unfold towards the climax.

This wasn’t real.

 

When he arrived at C&R International, he was greeted by an extremely troubled looking Jaehee. She must have gotten here in a hurry, as she was still in clothing more fit for home rather than work. He supposed he looked out of it because Jaehee silently took his arm and pulled him towards the elevator. He felt like he wasn’t even the one controlling his body, instead he was just watching it move.

“We called in the intelligence unit. They should be arriving soon.”

Saeran hummed, confirming that he heard her.

They eventually made it to their designated floor number and walked down the dim hallways. As expected at this time of night, they seemed to be the only ones inside the building. The majority of the lights were shut off, leaving on only the bare necessity.

“Assistant Kang.”

The two of them looked ahead. Jumin was in front of the Intelligence Unit’s office, waiting for them.

“Mr. Han, what is our next course of action?” Jaehee asked immediately.

“Type up an email requesting an urgent meeting. You may use my signature.” Jumin informed stoically. Jaehee nodded, going off to her desk to do as was asked. “Saeran, as the head of the Intelligence Unit, are you fit to command your subordinates?”

“I…” Saeran hesitated. He has had a position of power once before. Jumin even allowed him to take control of the unit when they were going after his father. This wasn’t new territory. He knew what he was doing. He just needed to believe in himself… Like Minji believed in him. Saeran clenched his fists tightly. For her… “Yes, I’m… I’m fine, now. Sorry.”

“No need for apologies.” Jumin stepped to the side, motioning towards the office. “May I ask what you brought along?”

“This is Minji’s laptop and cell phone. I’m going to extract every single piece of data I can, see what they picked up.”

“You said you found her cell phone at the police station?”

“Tracked it there earlier… She probably dropped it out in the open without anyone noticing. Kidnappers would usually take this stuff and maybe get rid of it, so…”

“Indeed. It might, hopefully, be quite a fortunate turn of events.” Jumin replied, crossing his arms. “Will you be all right in here, by yourself, until the others show up? I need to make a few phone calls, however if you are uncomfortable, I can stay with you.”

Saeran shook his head. “I’m okay now. I just… needed a moment to wrap my mind around everything… I will do everything for her.” He clenched his hands tighter, feeling his nails dig into his palms. Silently, he apologized to Saeyoung, his brother.

It wasn’t as though one person was more important than the other. It wasn’t as though he loved one more than the other. Saeran needed them. Saeran treasured them both. His heart was being shredded apart into tinier and tinier pieces the longer they weren’t by his side. He knew the constant ache would never cease without them.

And yet…

Even with unwavering faith in their inner strength… Knowing that both Saeyoung and Minji have gone through mental and physical abuse…

The one who would last longer…

…Would not be Minji.

There were a multitudes of reasons Saeran could come up with to justify his point. His and Saeyoung’s mother. Their father. The intelligence agency. Even if Saeyoung has been missing in action for a longer period of time, Minji has never been driven near her breaking point.

She was terrified, nearly shivering in the fear, while at Mint Eye. But he was with her. She saw through him, through all of his facades and pain, and trusted him. Wished for – with all of her determination – that he would regain his free will. Hoped.

Saeran prayed that she kept hoping.

He would find her. He needed her to trust him, for just a little longer. Even if it ran his body to the ground and he collapsed in the end, as long as he could see her one last time – safe – he wouldn’t care.

First things first, Saeran needed to collect all of the nitty gritty data on her electronics. He shuffled over to his assigned area and put down Minji’s laptop and cell phone. Jumin was correct in saying that Minji losing her cell phone and him being able to retrieve it might be fortunate. He had direct access to the cell phone’s location history, now. It gave him very little to work with, as a cell phone responded to the closest few cell towers and those cell towers responded to a very large area. However, it was better than nothing. He just needed to follow Minji’s movements and get the list of the phones using the same or nearby cell towers. That was, assuming her abductor or abductors also had cell phones on them.

At face value, the phone gave Saeran nothing to work with. There were no strange text messages or calls, nor were there any concerning emails on her accounts. Even if Minji deleted something, it was easy enough for him to recover them. Not that there was anything for him to recover – which made Saeran feel strangely dismayed.

Her laptop left him in a similar position. Since her backpack was still the only belonging of hers that was missing – if the device was stored in there, he could have, at least, forced it to give him its current location or determine any IP address it might have linked to. However, it was left at her apartment – presumably because the battery was running low, if the charger it was connected to said anything. Saeran only brought it along to have a closer look at Minji’s digital security – cyber-attacks or viruses that got through.

…Which also yielded nothing useful.

Saeran gnawed on his thumb.

Minji was having a normal night up until he ended their phone call. There was no telling when everything started to go south.

Her apartment wasn’t broken into, he checked every last square inch. And there were no signs of a struggle… Otherwise, why would Minji bring her backpack? Was she carrying something in there when she ran? Did she own something like that?

Various scenarios played out in his mind before someone calling his name startled him out of the imaginations.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“U-Uh, no, it’s fine…” Saeran turned to stare at Jaehee, his heart rate slowing down some after the shock. Looking beyond her form, he saw his intelligence team diligently typing away on their computers.

When did they get there?

On who’s orders were they following? Jaehee’s? Jumin’s?

“They are looking into any security feeds possible in the surrounding five-mile radius from the police station you said you found Minji’s phone.” Jaehee informed. “I’ve come to ask if you were willing to accompany us. We got a response to our email.”

Email…?

Jaehee held out her phone, letting him see the signature at the bottom of the email.

Saeran bit the inside of this lip, clenching his fists tightly. This… This wasn’t how he wanted a meeting like that to happen… However, he knew, it was only right to at least attend this meeting – to look into their eyes and tell them the truth.

Swallowing thickly, he looked back up at Jaehee and nodded firmly.

“We will be leaving within the hour and will return here before the day ends. There is no need to prepare much more than what you believe is needed.” She patted his shoulder in what was supposed to be in a comforting gesture. “Did you find anything?”

“Nothing solid…” Saeran lightly ran his fingers across Minji’s phone connected to one of his computers, data codes running up the screen. “This should finish soon.”

“What are you extracting?”

“Every location pinpoint for the past week or so. I’ll come back to check if there’s anything strange in her movements, but…” Saeran trailed off, looking to his computer screen instead. “From… this data point to… this one, anywhere in that is where she dropped it and someone brought it to the police station. See how the coordinates are starting to come up as the same thing? That’s the police station. From there, I was the one to move it around.”

“Is that first one you pointed at her apartment coordinates?”

“Yeah.” He confirmed. “And I had a look at the police station, which is this last one. The time stamps say it was between five in the morning and ten in the morning that these movements were happening...”

“From this, we can determine that something happened to her close to six in the morning.” Jaehee analyzed. “And from this set of steady coordinates, the phone was still left on the ground, correct?”

“Right…” Saeran let out a breath, his heart aching. “We should… go to that location and have a look…”

“Sir?” One of the intelligence unit employees called out. “What will be your orders while you are away? Should we keep an eye on the program?”

He looked at the codes and coordinates once more. “It should start displaying C&R’s coordinates soon. I want half of you to keep looking through the security feeds, the other half, look into this set of coordinates.” Saeran highlighted a block of numbers. “Look into nearby cell towers and start identifying the cell phones using them.”

“Yes sir!” The group chorused, getting to work.

“Shall we?” Jaehee asked, motioning towards the door.

Saeran slowly got up from his seat, looking over his shoulder at Minji’s belonging’s longingly one last time.

 

After an hour-and-ten-minute flight, Saeran was sitting in the back of a limousine with Jumin and Jaehee. He felt like his mouth was producing too much saliva, but his throat refused to swallow it down properly. His stomach was tumbling, attempting to push bile up instead. He didn’t dare open his mouth. Not even the beautiful passing scenery of Jeju Island did anything to calm his mind – his body becoming a muddled battlefield.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.

“Are you all right?”

Saeran started at the voice, quickly turning away from the window to look at the speaker. “Y-Yeah…” He coughed, his body threatening further to purge anything inside out. He swallowed forcibly. “F-Fine, Jumin. Sorry.”

Why was he always the bringer of bad news? Was it his fault? All of this time?

The businessman looked at him skeptically. “You are rather pale… If you are not up to it, please forward me all of the data you have managed to collect and what you plan to do from here on. I should not have forced you to come along, I apologize.”

“N-No! Umm… That’s… You didn’t force me…” Saeran stuttered out, his voice gradually getting softer.

What was he going to do without her by his side?

“Would you like to wait in the café on the ground floor?” Jaehee suggested worriedly. “Or perhaps stay in the car?”

Saeran quickly shook his head.

He should be brave.

He should…

He should face them, eye-to-eye. For her sake.

“I’m fine. Really. Sorry, I just… got nervous.”

Jumin nodded in understanding before looking pass his form towards the window. Saeran turned his head, noticing that they were beginning to pull up to a tall corporate building.

Saeran tried once more to get his esophagus to work, a shiver of anxiety running up his spine.

Inside, the three of them were led to one of the highest floors and into one of the most elaborate meeting rooms the building seemed to have. Inside, a woman was flanked on both sides by younger men, making an intimidating picture. The three people, who’s faces Saeran had seen once or twice, stood up from their seats to greet them.

“Mr. Jumin Han, a pleasure to meet you.” The woman said, bowing slightly before extending her hand.

“Mrs. Jiwoo Chae, CEO of Sui-t Generis Korea, the pleasure is all mine.” Jumin greeted, copying the gestures.

“I apologize. You gave us little notice to this _urgent_ meeting, I could not gather the others you have requested to be here. My husband cannot leave his duties as a kindergarten teacher, the children are much too young to be left alone, and there is no available temporary replacement. As for my other son, he is currently on a business trip to one of our suppliers.” Jiwoo Chae swept her hand elegantly towards the two younger males.

“I am Minhyuk Chae, working directly under the Chief Financial Officer. Nice to meet you.”

“And I am Minsu Chae, training under our CEO.” The older of the two said, easily standing up to Jumin. “A pleasure, sir.”

Saeran examined the two steadily. He could see the resemblance between the siblings, even the features that they shared with Minji. Minsu was the eldest brother, if he remembered correctly. The man was a year older than Jumin, so it came as no surprise that he was not easily intimidated – even by power. The other one, Minhyuk, was the youngest of the brothers and three years older than Minji.

He managed to hold back an instinctive flinch as Minji’s two older brothers turned to him.

“It was I who requested such an outrageous demand. However, it is disappointing, as our discussion today will indeed, most likely, impact your entire family.” Jumin said.

Jiwoo raised her eyebrow questioningly. “Please, have a seat.”

Jaehee sat on Jumin’s right, so Saeran opted to sit on his left. He carefully kept his hands on his lap.

“Thank you.” Jumin replied evenly.

“What urgent business do you have with our family? This seems more like a social call, Mr. Han, rather than a meeting with Sui-t Generis Korea.” Jiwoo commanded in her sweet voice. Saeran realized where Minji acquired hers from, making his heart wrench within his chest.

“Yes, there is no need for small talk. It is about your daughter, Ms. Minji Chae.”

“My daughter…?” She questioned slowly. “She is quite young, perhaps even too young, for a man of your age, to be able to easily communicate with. I can assume that this is not a proposal of marriage, yes?”

“Of course, it is not. I am not like my father in that regard.” Jumin cleared his throat. Saeran saw him shift his eyes briefly. “Minji and I have a very good, companionable relationship. One that I wish to keep at all costs.”

The older woman seemed not to buy the story. “Is that so?”

“If you do not believe me, I believe I have a ‘selfie’ saved on my cell phone.” Jumin took out his phone from the inside pocket of his suit and tapping away. He turned it around before Jaehee could stop him.

“…I’m sorry, is this some kind of farce? Have we done something to make C&R International suspicious of us?” Minsu spoke up. “Or are you looking into the confectionary business, perhaps, now that your art business has been halted?”

Jumin could barely open his mouth before Jaehee interrupted. “Apologies. It was not our intention to make a mockery of Sui-t Generis Korea.” She turned to him. “Saeran, do you, perchance, have another picture?”

He took out his phone from his pants pocket and scrolled through the gallery, selecting a cute picture to enlarge. Saeran smiled wistfully for a moment before setting it on the table and passing it over softly.

It was a picture of Minji, her arms wrapped around Jumin’s neck as she hopped against his back. Although Jumin, at the time, was surprised, it was quickly overwritten by the soft smile that was captured by Saeran’s cell phone. He remembered the moment fondly. They were leaving the restaurant RFA ate at and decided a walk around would be good for digestion. She was feeling playful at the time and – to stop Zen from arguing – she tried to share her affections with Jumin by clinging onto his back for just a moment, not giving the businessman enough time to gather his wits and hold onto her properly before she hopped off.

“Uwaa~ What has lil’ sis’ been up to for the few months she moved away from home?” Minhyuk whispered. “How did she even meet _him_?”

“Quiet.” Minsu chastised.

Jiwoo cleared her throat a bit nervously. “Has she been causing you inconveniences? She is quite the… social butterfly, if you will.”

“Nothing of the sort.” Jumin replied. “However, the reason I am here is to inform you that your daughter, my friend, Minji Chae, has disappeared.”

As expected, the room fell into a cold silence.

“Wh-… Excuse me?” Jiwoo nearly squeaked out.

“We believe it was within the early morning hours of yesterday that she went missing.” Jumin informed. His eyes shifted to watch the youngest male, Minhyuk, reach for his phone. “She will not answer any calls. Her cell phone is in possession of the C&R Intelligence Team. As well as her laptop and her backpack that was recovered a couple hours ago by my investigative team.”

Saeran tilted his head but didn’t voice his confusion. When did Jumin call an investigation team?

“This is a complete report of what has been discovered so far.” Jaehee interrupted, placing a folder onto the table.

“The bag was found 18.9 miles west of her Seoul apartment. Notebooks, writing utensils, and her wallet were inside, so there is no need to worry that her identity would be stolen.” Jumin continued.

“Her money is not the issue here!” Minhyuk stood up, palms slapping against the table.

Jiwoo put a hand on her son’s arm. “It would affect our company if it were to be used for such scams. I appreciate the effort to inform us.”

“Think nothing of it.” Jumin waved off. “We have come to ask for your cooperation. I have used a private investigative team, and our intelligence team stays within C&R. However, it would be prudent to involve the police. Sui-t Generis Korea will likely go through a hectic period as the news goes public.”

“Of course, you have our cooperation.” Jiwoo replied sternly. “We will do everything in our power.”

Jumin motioned towards Saeran. “This young man is the head of our Intelligence Unit. He has been working tirelessly to gather any intel possible.”

Saeran hastily stood up, bowing his head nervously. “S-Saeran Choi. It’s… nice to meet you.”

He wished Minji was the one to introduce him to her family.

“You are the former Prime Minister’s son, are you not?” Minsu asked in his deep voice.

Saeran looked up, almost challengingly. “Yes.”

Minji’s eldest brother only nodded back.

“I assure you, he is most capable. He would not have received the position otherwise.” Jumin reassured as he stood up. “Gather your bearings, Sui-t Generis Korea, and prepare your resources. C&R will take responsibility and inform the police. It has already been 24 hours since we were able to notice Ms. Chae’s disappearance, thus the next 24 will be most crucial. Everything that we have managed to gather is written in the report and I will have Mr. Choi continue to account his findings to you.”

“Our deepest gratitude.” Jiwoo said sincerely, standing up from her seat as well. “Mr. Choi, we are counting on you.”

“Of course. I will do everything I can for her.” Saeran declared sincerely with determination filling his body. “No matter the cost.”

Jiwoo smiled gently. “You seem to care for her a great deal.”

“I-…” Saeran swallowed, startled by the woman’s sudden perceptiveness.

“Let’s talk about this another time.” Minsu cut in, walking to the door and opening it for them and bowing deeply. “Our time is limited. Thank you very much, for everything. We will be in contact.”

“I apologize that we only came to bear bad news.” Jumin responded, also showing respect to the family.

As the door closed behind them, the three of them heard a choked sobbed tried to be muffled.

Two worried cries of “Mother!” followed the sorrowful sound.


	6. Pitch Black Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Month 1, Day 15-17
> 
> They couldn’t let her die. Not yet.

Month 1, Day 15-17

She warred within her mind.

The compulsive need to call on her knight to save her from this nightmare versus the desire for the love of her life to get as far away as possible from this dark reality.

Minji sat on the ground with her knees to her chest, her back against the cold wall behind her. She bit her lip harshly, trying to suppress the noises her body wanted to rip out of her throat. The hot tears dripped from her chin, landing with an overly warm splash on her skin. Her right hand gripped at her upper left arm harshly, sticky blood dripping between her fingers.

The darkness of the basement she was tossed in kept her mind on high alert despite her body wanting to curl up and agonize. Was it night? Was it day? She didn’t know. She couldn’t focus on something so trivial during her time above ground, anyways.

The door creaked open, followed by the sounds of someone walking down the old wooden stairs.

The typical routine Minji had come to know.

Sung-Jin, Jongsu, Sanghun, Joonho, and Yeoncheol couldn’t have her dying just yet.

She still had yet to say anything worthwhile.

“How about now? I’ll be nice and use something to numb it.” Sanghun offered, crouching beside her and setting down a medical kit and two water bottles.

“Don’t act so nice now.” Minji gritted out. This was the same man who had stabbed her. Twice.

“You scratch my back, I scratch yours.” He shrugged, pouring water over her arm and opening the kit to take out the tools to stitch her skin back together.

They couldn’t let her die. Not yet.

Although neither the place nor the materials were sterile by any means, it stopped her body from bleeding itself dry. It didn’t matter to them if she got any kind of infection.

Perhaps even hoped a delirious fever would open her mouth.

Minji bit her tongue, tasting copper, as the needle slid through her skin repeatedly.

As carelessly as he arrived, he left just as.

Per usual, she didn’t get any food today, either. Only the extra water bottle. Whether Sanghun meant for that to keep her wound clean or to keep her from dehydrating and dying, she didn’t know. Torture was already painful enough, staying dehydrated while sustenance was right in front of her was a suffering her instincts refused to partake in. Like how a person couldn’t hold their breath and die from lack of oxygen – Minji couldn’t dehydrate herself to death.

Did she wish to die or stay alive? She couldn’t decide anymore.

Succumbing to the pain and emotional stress for the day, Minji’s mind and body blacked out for just a moment.

Her bruised and battered body fell to the side. Jolting awake with the sudden vertigo, she braced herself with her arms, gasping sharply at the pain resonating from the new, unsuccessful, negotiating technique. Minji shivered harshly against the cold cement floor and, most likely, from the blood loss.

Hissing out a breath and gathering her remaining strength, she pushed herself back up.

With resignation, Minji took a swig from the water bottle. Letting some of it drip from her lips, she let out a soft, unhinged laugh.

She should’ve figured it wasn’t just water.

Letting the open bottle fall from her grasp, Minji leaned her head back, accepting that her mind was going to become fuzzy and unresponsive soon.

The next time she woke up, her surroundings had changed. Just like the first time… How many days ago, now? Whether it was daytime or nighttime, everything seemed pitch black to her. Time steadily moving forward without her.

However, this time, she was sure it was night. The window above her showed her the brightly shining stars. Her body shook with the motions of the car as she lay on her side, her wrists and ankles tied tightly.

They were moving.

Probably to keep people away from their trail.

Whatever. Minji didn’t care.

She closed her eyes again, her mind and body too heavy. Too tired.

 

The next night began with the same routine.

Minji coughed harshly, spit dribbling out of her mouth as she lay on her side on the ground. Her wrists were, once again, tied behind her back – her shoulders dully aching. An irritated sigh sounded above her before another kick was swiftly delivered to her injured thigh. Crying out did not lessen the assault.

A door opened.

“Still nothing?”

“Stubborn bitch.”

“You didn’t hit her head, did you? If she gets amnesia or some shit, this would have been a waste of time.”

“You think I’m stupid?”

Minji bit her tongue, keeping her voice deep inside as he stepped on her left arm to keep her in place, putting pressure onto her torn skin.

“Here, I got a new toy that might work.”

“Great. Hey, get up.”

With a yank to her arms, she was thrown into a chair. Before her muddled mind could register anything, the men had a rope tightly tied across her bruised abdomen to keep her against the backrest.

A low buzzing absently registered in her ears.

“Anything to say, girl?”

She didn’t answer.

“We can’t have you biting your tongue out, now.” A piece of something was tied behind her head, stretching tightly between her teeth.

They waited only a few more seconds before Minji felt a sharp pierce against the side of her lower back.

Her muscles convulsed with the electrical currents spreading into her body.

The sounds she was desperately keeping at bay ripped out of her throat with a loud scream.

 

The sun rose and set once more.

The musty room was pitch black. Silent.

They were done for the day. Leaving her alone, permanently attached to the chair in the middle of an empty, abandoned place. Her back muscles, both cold and inflamed, pulsed uncomfortably. With the chill of night, the blood mixed water on her skin refused to dry.

Minji’s eyes lost focus as she stared blankly at the ground, head tilted downwards.

Her heart, her mind – whispers of her resolved echoed loudly within.

**_‘Lips sealed?’_ **

“…Forever.” She murmured into the hollow room, hoarse voice no more than a brush of air.

**_‘Good girl.’_ **


	7. Contact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Month 1, Day 20
> 
> Damn girl. Making him do all this work just to get her ass back where it belonged.

Month 1, Day 20

_It has been about two weeks since the daughter of Sui-t Generis Korea’s CEO, Jiwoo Chae, was declared missing, and it looks like the market still does not know how to react. Sui-t Generis Korea’s share prices haven’t been able to stay stable since then. We have here with us today, the company’s CFO who works closest to the youngest heir of the company… Your earnings report is approaching very soon. What can you tell us about the situation there? I can’t even imagine the devastation the family is going through._

_Hello, thank you for having me. All things considered, we are ‘holding down the fort,’ you could say. The heirs of the company are proving themselves very competent, taking the reigns head on while some of our man power is redirected to the ongoing investigation._

“I apologize, Saeran.”

Saeran looked up from his stance by the doorway, waiting for Jumin to take notice.

“…It’s fine…”

The business man turned off the television in his office and directed his full attention to the hacker. “C&R, as colleagues in this investigation, should keep an eye on them… Are you alright?”

Saeran nodded, stepping forward with a folder. “The report you asked for.”

Jumin stared at him, eyes staying on his face as the folder was placed on the desk. “Has your heart been shattered?”

Saeran looked up, startled at the question.

Wasn’t it already obvious?

“You look unaffected, as always.” He nearly scoffed before barely catching himself. This wasn’t the person he needed to direct his anger and sorrows to. “Sorry.”

“You should rest.” Jumin stated, ignoring Saeran’s words.

“No! We’re so-!”

“You have been working multiple nights in a row.” The businessman interrupted. “It’ll do her no good if you collapse here.”

“What do you know?!” Saeran cried out. He bit his trembling lip.

His head ached terribly.

Saeran knew he was being irrational. Overly tired as he was, made his emotional state tilt off center. But he couldn’t stop. Not now… Not when he has failed her for the last fifteen days. They say that the first 48 hours were the most crucial… any longer and…

Saeran violently shook his head to rid of the thoughts. To rid of the constant, pounding pressure inside his head.

“Have you collected yourself?”

Embarrassed, Saeran looked away and nodded. “Sorry… I’m sorry.”

“No need. You may take a nap on that couch. Ten to twenty minutes is the most optimal length of time. You can afford at least that much.” Jumin suggested, opening the folder he was offered. “I can have a double expresso shot prepared for you when you wake if you are truly determined to make it through the rest of the day. However, rest by nightfall.”

Perhaps a nap would help. He was used to this – this everlasting work accompanied by short rests and sweets for an extra pump of energy.

Perhaps a nap would get rid of his headache.

When Saeran woke up fifteen minutes later, he accepted the coffee Jaehee handed him and hurried back to the Intelligence Unit’s office.

“Sir,” One of his men greeted.

“Anything?” Saeran asked curtly, setting the, now empty, mug onto his desk and heavily falling into his seat.

“Our list of cell phone users has decreased immensely. We have divided the populace into prepaid users and contract cell phone users.”

Saeran waved his hand impatiently.

Another man hurriedly cleared his throat to start talking. “Of course, one or more of the prepaid phones are more likely to be our target or targets’, thus we are using most of our members for that. Only myself and one other are running quick checks on contract phones.”

“Finally.” Saeran huffed under his breath. They were finally getting somewhere with the damned list. “I’m looking into the prepaid shit.”

“Y-Yes, sir. The updated list should now be accessible to everyone in this room.”

Saeran spun his chair around and rolled his eyes.

Of course, it was available to everyone. That was how he programmed the whole damn system. And if not everyone, the information was all shared to his computer, no matter what it was or who was manning the computer it came from.

He supposed they were doing their best, though.

Without looking at the men under his command, Saeran scanned through what was collected. His fingers absentmindedly clicking through the pages suddenly stopped as his eyes caught a strange stuttering code skillfully blending in with the rest of the security codes on his extra monitor. Silently, he switched over, carefully analyzing the damage done to his near perfect system.

Saeran raised a questioning eyebrow.

Names were disappearing off of their collected list of cellphones. Retrieving the data back easily, he did a preliminary background check on them.

Nothing in common, nothing noteworthy.

Innocent citizens.

Whoever it was didn’t make it very far inside before the system would’ve detected them and set off the alarm. Saeran guessed it was only enough time to erase a name or two at most, and not very thoroughly, at that. However, they were persistent, he’d give them that much – constantly going in and out of the system like that.

Growling in annoyance, he started reconfiguring his security and tracing the bastard who wanted to interfere.

No wonder, in the twenty minutes he had been away, the Intelligence Unit said the list was narrowing.

Because it was. Without their notice. Useless…

Novices.

He’ll need to train them, or something.

Saeran shook his head again, hoping to clear his jumbled thoughts. The nap did little to dispel his headache.

Damn girl. Making him do all this work just to get her ass back where it belonged.

First, he was going to kill this idiot that was just asking for a death sentence by attacking his perfect system.

Saeran traced them hurriedly. Sloppily. After nearly an hour, he growled loudly – losing their trail. Falling for their divergence. Their tricks. He felt the stares of the other people in the room and turned to glower at them angrily.

He scoffed and muttered under his breath when everyone pretended to be busy, “Cowards.”

“You are certainly in a foul mood.”

Turning sharply, Saeran stared at Jumin, who stood in the open doorway.

“Trying to pick a fight?”

“Certainly not.” Jumin replied calmly, crossing his arms. “Intelligence Unit, you are dismissed for today.”

“Hey!” Saeran stood up angrily. “Who says you can-!”

“I am your superior.” The businessman kept his stare sharp. “You are dismissed as well. Rest at home, _Mr. Choi._ ”

“Thinking you can just order me around.” Saeran snarled, but nonetheless stood up and gathered his things. He then let a smirk grace his lips as he was passing the older man to get out the door. “Guess you don’t care what your so called _best friend_ was doing in the chat room or where he is.”

Smugly, he walked towards the elevator without looking back. Not even when he heard Jumin turn to him in surprise.

He found logs of that man entering the RFA chat room earlier. There was no communication between the man and anyone else, only an observation of the chatroom’s on goings. Since then, Saeran had a program tracing the IP address back to the origin and found a location. With the other security threat looming over his head, he didn’t have much of a chance to analyze the data more than just peaking at the coordinates. However, if it was enough to get a rise out of Han, he was satisfied enough.

Making his way out of the lobby, Saeran chuckled breathily.

That made him feel better.

Now, all he had to do was destroy the carefully created fake identities of certain prepaid cellphone users.

Maybe he’d just mess with the entire list. That would teach everyone not to touch his toys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back y'all xD ^^;;;


	8. Lie Until It's the Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Month 1, Day 22, Day 23
> 
> If he loved her… he would have already found her, wouldn’t he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, again ^^; I really meant to get back on track, but alas...  
> To make a long story short:  
> I got super sick almost immediately after posting the previous chapter.  
> I got into a huge argument with family where it was said that 'children are just tools'. So, as the 'child' in this case, I became really depressed and unmotivated. I won't get into any more detail than that, so please do not ask.
> 
> BUT! I'm back again! I got my pep back and spent the last couple of weeks rereading my own stories and getting into the swing of my plots and characters. I hope I can keep it up? Lol. Also a fun announcement at the bottom! Please read it~

Month 1, Day 22, Day 23

 

This new place was full of the sounds of nature. Birds singing their songs. Leaves rustling gently in the wind. The only impure humans that were making a racket and tainting the natural peace were herself and the ones in front of her.

Minji’s head tilted back with a jerk as the man in front of her yanked off the cloth placed between her teeth and tied behind her head. Her lips were wet with saliva, her rapid breath making her shiver as the liquid cooled.

The low buzzing of the stun gun ceased with a click.

The uninsulated, wooden cabin with weeds growing in between the floor boards remained silent. A man waiting for a reaction from their stagnant prisoner.

“He’s not coming for you. If he loved you, don’t you think he’d be here already?”

If he loved her…

“A pretty girl offering to do everything in her immense power to set him free and gives promises of a good, easy, even lavish life? Hell, I’d take that deal and pretend to fawn over her. It’s easy to manipulate a girl in love. You’re no different.”

…Manipulated.

“Come on, just admit it.”

Eyes unfocused, she vacantly stared at the man who was suddenly so close to her face – her chin gripped in between his fingers.

“He played you. He’s even probably saying ‘good riddance.’”

Good riddance.

“You can get him back, you know? Out of spite. Revenge.”

…

“We’ll do it for you. You don’t even have to lift a finger. Aren’t we nice?”

Kindness.

Was she too nice? Saeran… took advantage of her kindness?

“Hey, are you listening?”

Fingers snapped in front of her vision.

Minji didn’t blink.

“We’ve told you over and over for days now. You really cannot be this stupid? He doesn’t love you, girly. Get back at him. That will make you feel a thousand times better, I promise. We’ll give him all of the pain you’ve suffered. We can even multiply it if you’d like.”

Her heart thudded powerfully.

“Appealing right? So? Where’s the boy who broke your heart?”

Minji tried to move the muscles in her jaw, only managing to clench her teeth slightly.

Her mind was moving too slowly.

Nothing was functioning correctly.

“Yeah?”

“Hey.” Another man hastily entered the cabin, looking a little pale. “Meeting. Now.”

The man holding her chin scoffed, letting go abruptly and walking out.

She was left alone. Unflinching. Unmoving.

…

How many days had it been?

Saeran Choi was a genius. A hacker of the highest caliber.

If he loved her…

If he loved her… he would have already found her, wouldn’t he?

If he loved her, he would save her.

If he loved her, she wouldn’t be here.

Why… was she here, again?

These men… Did they rescue her from a loveless relationship? A miserable reality? Shackling another human being to her side forcibly... Both of their greed tainting the little purity that existed between them.

…Did he love her?

Did he ever come to love her?

He said he hated liars. Was he a liar, himself? Saying that to make her trust him? Sympathize with him?

Were these men the liars?

…Humans lie because humans were selfish creatures. Did no one ever once tell her the truth?

These men needed something… something she didn’t have – perhaps, something she had long forgotten. Or rather, it was something she couldn’t even locate in her mind anymore.

But one thing was certain to her now.

Saeran Choi used her to become a free man…

…And even so…

And even so, Minji still felt her heart race at the mere thought of him.

…Why couldn’t he come save her?...

Why couldn’t he hear her heart, back then, when it whispered her sincere affections? When it accepted his silver-tongued deceits?

Why wasn’t she enough?

…Good riddance. Conceivably, that was what Saeran truly thought.

With her gone, there was no more need to feed her lies. No need to pretend that he loved her, cared for her, or cherished her.

He was truly a free man, now.

And even so… Minji felt oddly relieved that he was happy somewhere.

**_‘…’_ **

 

The sun set and rose, like always.

And the blindingly shining star, once again, started its descent due west before she knew it.

They didn’t visit her today.

She almost felt lonely. Did they abandon her, as well?

Was her worth at its ends? Did they get what they wanted?

Minji’s mind was fuzzy. She didn’t want to think.

Thinking meant that she’d feel her body writhe in pain.

Thinking meant she’d feel her stomach sink in on itself – feel how parched her throat was.

No one was coming for her.

She was alone.

Her heart suddenly started to race, the sound echoing in her ears. Her blood pumped through her veins rapidly.

She was alone.

No one was here to keep her. No one was here to help her.

No one was here.

It was likely that no one was going to be here today.

**_‘Fight. Run.’_ **

Minji wiggled her wrists against the bindings keeping them behind her back. Her unused and wounded muscles were weak, the position making her shoulders all the sorer as the hours ticked by.

The struggle lasted only a couple seconds.

Fruitless.

**_‘Guess this is it, then. We’ll die here.’_ **

She supposed that that was true. Despite the fear that gripped her body tightly and her instincts growling in discontent at the lack of strength, Minji felt her eyes slip close.

Yeah.

Guess she’ll die here.

 ** _‘Go_** _od_ bye ** _,_** o ** _u_** _r **lo**_ ve ** _l_** _es **s p** ri **nc**_ e ** _.’_**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After thinking long and hard about this, I decided to share my social media with you guys! It will be in my profile, so have a look if you are so inclined to come chat with me~  
> HOWEVER please please please follow the guidelines that come with contacting me through any of my accounts. More info will be in my profile!  
> Also, this does not mean I do not appreciate comments! I love comments! They were the reason I even thought about coming back to finish my stories at all ^^ To everyone who has commented but I feel awkward answering them now after so long, THANK YOU SO MUCH ♥♥♥


	9. Out of Reach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Month 1, Day 24
> 
> His head was pounding, it almost made him feel sick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year!  
> Double update for Spectrum! (Because I thought I posted this chapter, but it turns out I didn't...)

Month 1, Day 24

 

Saeran gnawed on his lip, the computer screen in front of him glaring back. He felt a bead of sweat drip down from his temple, but paid it no heed. The codes were a much more urgent matter.

Minutes passed by in silence.

“Damn it!” Saeran hissed in frustration, slamming his hands down on the keyboard. “Saeyoung!”

Untraceable.

Saeran took a deep breath while leaning his head back.

He knew.

He knew it was Saeyoung who was helping them locate Minji’s kidnappers. There was no one else in the world who could match them in hacking ability.

There was… no one else in the world who Saeran would imitate.

Saeyoung was right there, but Saeran couldn’t reach him. Saeran’s skills weren’t good enough, after all…

He leaned forward to rest his forehead on the desk. He was useless.

The seconds ticked by in silence.

Balling his fists tightly, Saeran suddenly sat up straight.

He wasn’t useless. Not yet.

Grabbing his phone and wallet, Saeran started marching towards the door with purpose. But feeling a sudden rush of emotions, he put a hand on the wall to steady himself.

“Saeran, don’t.” He whispered.

Giving himself only another moment, he stood up straight and went out of Saeyoung’s home. Although he should’ve just called C&R for a car, Saeran, instead, walked until he found a taxi on the busier streets. After double checking the address and rattling it off to the driver, Saeran was off to his destination.

Slowly, minute by minute, the scenery changed into someplace unfamiliar.

Kindly enough, the driver tried to make small talk. “It is not my place to question where you go. It could very well be your job, after all. But you be careful. You look like a good kid. It’s too beautiful a day for anything to happen to you.”

“Thanks…” Saeran said in a quiet voice. “I appreciate your concern.”

Tch. What did this old man know.

Searan bit his tongue, sending sharp pain signals to his brain.

A menacing building came into view after close to an hour of travelling. Saeran gratefully bowed his head to the man while paying him before getting out. Staring up at the blandly colored building, he took a steadying breath.

“What are you doing here?” A deep voice greeted him the moment he stepped through the doors. “I thought I told you to leave it to us.”

“I can’t just sit and do nothing.” He retorted.

Jumin let out a breath. “I understand; however, I believe you were looking for someone else? I’ve hired highly skilled interrogators. We should leave it to them.”

“I’ve-“ Saeran cut himself off before he could reveal anything more.

Jumin raised an elegant eyebrow, but he didn’t comment on it further. “Since you are here, I’ll give you a report.”

Saeran nodded, following the business man deeper into the building.

“This is the interrogation room we are currently using. Inside, at the moment, is Jongsu Cho.” Jumin explained before pointing to another door. “Come.”

Stepping inside, Saeran eyed the one-way mirror, spying the man, Jongsu Cho, sitting with his hands cuffed on the other side. He felt a surge of anger rush through his body. This man was one of Minji’s kidnappers. He was the reason…!

“They are being interrogated one by one. The others, Joonho Lee, Yeoncheol Kang, Sung-Jin Kim, and Sanghun Moon are being held in the lower level prisons.”

Saeran cleared his throat. “Any luck?”

“None with Lee. The others have yet to be interrogated.”

“Let me-“ Saeran clamped his mouth closed.

What was he doing? What was he about to suggest? _Again?_

“Let you…?” Jumin questioned. “Are you feeling alright? You look pale. Should I call for a doctor?”

“N-No. No, I’m fine…”

“You don’t seem fine. Perhaps this is too much emotional stimulus for you. That is why I suggested you stay home.”

“You expect me to just sit and do nothing?!” Saeran snapped back, his hands balling into fists. “I can get them squirming, just wa-“

The door clicked open.

“…Apologies.” A surprised guard said. “We are ready to start, so if you’d please take this somewhere else? I can call someone to get you a private room, Mr. Han.”

“No need. Mr. Choi was about to leave.” Jumin stated, taking out his phone. “Please proceed as scheduled.”

“Of course, sir.”

“Excuse me?” Saeran grit his teeth. He suddenly closed an eye, his head feeling like it was being squeezed. “Ow…”

Without saying another word, Jumin grabbed Saeran’s wrist and pulled him out of the room. As they were walking, the business man took out his cell phone and dialed a number.

“Assistant Kang. Send a car and bring Saeran to C&R.” He paused. “Yes, Saeran is here. He’ll stay in my office until we are finished for the day. I will return and brief you both on what we might discover.”

Saeran stumbled to keep up with Jumin’s brisk pace. His head was pounding, it almost made him feel sick. Swallowing thickly, Saeran mentally begged for his head to calm down. Looking down his arm, he felt Jumin holding his wrist harder than any other time they’ve made physical contact. He should apologize to the older man.

He missed Minji.

He was falling apart without her.

“Jumin, I-“

“It’s nothing.” The businessman interrupted, stopping in the lobby of the building. “Driver Kim will be here soon. Anything you need, Assistant Kang will retrieve it for you once you are at the office.”

Jumin gave him a searching gaze, attempting to read his face. With a firm nod, Jumin let go of the wrist he held captive.

“I… I’ll continue trying to find Saeyoung… Somehow.”

“…Are you certain it was him?”

Saeran whipped his head up in surprise. “Why wouldn’t it…be?”

“Just that perhaps there might be someone else pulling the strings.” Jumin shrugged.

“I… There’s-!” Saeran bit his lip. “The system is too perfect for anyone else… Probably.”

“Regardless, I trust you to look into it. It is a breach into our system, and that must be resolved before all else.”

“Of course.”

Jumin peered over. “Perhaps you should take this opportunity to just rest. It has been a stressful few days for all of us.”

“No, I should keep working.” Saeran replied. “That’s… how I can be useful.”

Jumin took a slight pause. “Would you be willing to see a doctor? A therapist, to be more specific.”

Saeran looked down at his feet, scuffing the toe of his shoe onto the floor. He stayed silent long enough for Jumin to call his name softly.

“Not yet…”

“Yet?”

“The… meds will probably mess with my head. Especially if they’re new, it’s said that side effects are more likely to happen.” Saeran explained. “I need to… be able to hack the way I know how to the fullest.”

Although he knew... he wasn't at his best...

“They might help you focus.”

“They might not. I’m not going to risk it while she might… be…”

Saeran felt his eyes prick with tears.

Jumin nodded once more. “I understand.”

Clapping a hand onto Saeran’s shoulder, Jumin pushed the younger man towards the door as he saw Driver Kim pull up.

“Good luck.” The hacker whispered.

“You, as well.”


	10. Begotten from Darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Month 1, Day 26, Day 28
> 
> She brought the vial to her lips and let the glowing liquid slip between them. It was bitter. It burned as it slithered down her throat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year!  
> Extra long chapter for you~

Month 1, Day 26, Day 28

 

Footsteps echoed between the damp stone walls, the noise getting louder and louder as the person approached.

“How is our princess?”

“Savior, sir. We are finally getting a response, sir.”

The man called Savior stepped forward, keeping his eyes trained on the woman kneeling on the ground, her arms held by two other men.

The woman coughed wetly before beginning to catch her breath.

“Like what our previous Savior taught us,” Savior said proudly. “We’ve been victims to agony more than enough, haven’t we? Now it’s time to embrace what all that agony has seared into us. You should embrace that. You shouldn’t stay so nice and innocent. We were begotten from darkness. If you keep that angelic mask on, you’ll be met with nothing but suffering and sneering.”

The Savior gave a pitying look while gripping the woman’s cheeks in his hand. “But you’ve already been met with much suffering. Us finding you in that cabin must be fate. That is your punishment for running away the first time, Minji Chae.”

He let her go and cleared his throat before continuing his monologue, “You must be a devil in order to survive. There’s no other choice, now. And that’s not a bad thing. Don’t let the world trick you, again. Becoming a devil is not evil. So, unleash the evil within. You can do it.” He paused, stepping back to the entrance of her prison cell. “You were begotten from darkness.”

“Seongmin...” Minji coughed out breathily, looking up from her kneeling position in contempt.

“Savior has gifted me the sight.” Savior Seongmin laughed. “I can see it. Just a bit more… just a little more, and you’ll be fine. Savior always did love you. You get a special little spot, right where Ray used to stand. However, you are _much_ better than him. I can see it.” He then turned to the three other men surrounding the girl. “What are you all waiting for? Continue the cleansing.”

“Yes, sir!”

The believer holding a vial of glowing turquoise liquid held Minji’s face in place and forced the glass between her lips. Another man pinched her nose close, driving Minji’s body to instinctively swallow the liquid.

“Once you get used to the hatred, you’ll be happy. I can’t imagine what you’ve been through…” Savior Seongmin “Ray did not even come for you, did he? He took you away from our paradise and then abandoned you. How much you struggled to bridle all your hatred… You poor child.”

Minji coughed again once they took the vial away from her lips. Tears fell from her eyes. “…This is a dream…”

“You can feel the elixir taking effect, can’t you? The happiness is dawning upon you. I can feel it, Minji. I feel happy just imagining your happiness soon to unfold.”

“…S…Ray…”

“Ray abandoned you. He so heartlessly left you all alone with those people who hurt you… in that lonesome place. And there lies vengeance towards him in your heart. There is a pure essence of vengeance that began to bloom… Now show it to me, Minji.”

“…He left me… all alone…” Minji whispered, her head bowed.

“That’s right. Ray has not come for you.” He looked up to the other Believers. “Keep going. We must save this girl.”

Minji struggled only slightly before accepting the elixir. Once the vial was taken away, she coughed harshly, her breath becoming short and ragged.

“Hot…”

“You are a victim. A fool left behind. But not anymore. Now, you are born again.”

Seongmin stepped forward once more, put a comforting hand on top of Minji’s head. She looked up, eyes reflecting spots of light blue.

“…I will destroy them.”

“Yes. Bring him here, once more. He will receive his punishment for abandoning you. Us.”

“I will make them disappear…”

The new Savior smiled and chuckled. “Cleansing complete. This is the real you. You are the real Minji.” He stroked her hair. “You are strong. You are not useless, you will never be useless, again.”

Minji laughed breathlessly. “Strong…huh.”

“If you regularly ingest the elixir… You can stay strong.” Seongmin stepped back once more. “Remember, Minji. You are not weak. That is not the real you. The weak one will be locked up in your mind. Forever. You are the strong one.”

 

Two days later, Minji found her body to be strong enough to get up and explore.

She hummed to herself while inspecting a large bookshelf, keeping most of her weight on one leg. Taking one book down at a time, she read the title before tossing it carelessly over her shoulder. Soon, the floor was littered with open books and damaged pages.

“Ah~ Found it~” She sang, a smirk appearing on her lips. Stepping on books and shoving them out of the way with her foot, Minji paid the literature no mind. Sitting down heavily into a desk chair, she leaned back and put her feet on top of the table. “…Tch. Difficult. I’ll just chicken peck at the firewall until it’s annoying.”

Minji swayed her body to an imagined tune as she flipped through the pages.

“Shut up.” She said out loud, her eyes not leaving the words she was reading. “Respect books? They’re just dead trees. You can clean when it’s your turn, _princess_.” After a pause, Minji chuckled. “You’re right. It won’t be your turn for a whiiiile~”

A few minutes passed by in silence, after that.

“Bored.” She deadpanned, also tossing the book over her shoulder. Standing up, Minji walked out of the room. She walked down the carpeted hallway, eyeing the empty vases that lined the walls. There used to be fresh flowers in them, if she remembered correctly.

Turning the corner, she almost ran into a person in a hooded cloak. Minji took a small step back and raised an eyebrow.

“A-Apologies, Special Missionary Minji.” The Believer stuttered out.

“Whatever,” She shrugged, waving off the person.

Just as Minji stepped around the person, they called out, “I was actually instructed to bring this to you. But you were not in your room…”

Minji rolled her eyes. The interaction was so annoying. “You could have left it there. But, well, who knows if I would go back to that pink hell. What is it?”

“Your special cloak has been made. Per your design.”

“Oh, thank god. You know, the ones you wear are hideous. And way too warm. What, are you planning to stay in those in the summer heat and roast to death?” Minji taunted. “Give.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Unfolding it and holding it out to inspect, she looked it over. “It’s fine, I guess. You’re dismissed.”

“U-Um…”

“Oh, what now?” Minji growled, putting her hands on her hips.

“S-Savior would like to have a word with you at dinner.”

She huffed and turned away to continue walking. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll be there.”

Minji swung the robe onto her shoulders as she slowly descended the stairs, no longer wanting to carry the damn thing. Reaching into her back pocket, she took out a plastic ID card and slid it into the card scan attached to a heavy door.

“Huh…” She hummed. “Guess Ray’s card really does access anywhere.”

Walking into the room, Minji felt around the walls for the light switch. She winced once she found and flipped it on, giving her eyes a moment to adjust. Once they did, Minji whistled in awe.

“Look what we have here~” She sang, going towards one of the shelves. Vials upon vials of glowing blue liquid filled the room. “Is this part of the _new_ batch~? Heheh~ Ray’s _special_ batch.” She popped one open and immediately scoffed at the smell. “Yeah, yeah, _princess._ Stop your yapping. You’ll fix that Believer. Whatever damage I do is child’s play for you to solve.”

Minji walked around the many shelves, inspecting each one closely…

“Ugh, bored again.”

Promptly, she walked right back out of the large storage room and made sure the door clicked closed. Playing with the bottle in her hand precariously, Minji made her way down large, main corridors towards the back of the building. Swiping the ID card again granted her access to fresh sunlight. She closed an eye and squinted at the sudden brightness once more, the light breeze ruffling her hair and bringing the scent of flowers to her nose.

Stepping out into the garden, Minji let the door slam close behind her. The warmth of the sun felt nice on her cool skin. Walking into the sunlight, she carefully made her way down the partially paved path. Humming questioningly, she eyed the construction materials still lying precariously on the ground.

Swirling the liquid in the glass vial, Minji shrugged and said, “Time to sleep, _princess._ ”

She brought the vial to her lips and let the glowing liquid slip between them. It was bitter. It burned as it slithered down her throat. Persevering through the side effects, she drank until the vial was empty. Minji let out a breath, her body temperature rising alarmingly high. The world spun for a couple seconds before becoming a slow blur.

“Finally, quiet…”

Stumbling step after stumbling step, Minji went around to the areas that were still ‘under construction.’ There was no where else in the entire lot that still needed work done, so why here, a garden of all places? Although, the area that was under construction when she was here last now had young rose bushes planted and a stone walkway around it.

She shook the dizziness away and picked up a small garden shovel. Crouching down next to the freshly turned over dirt, Minji struck the shovel into the earth.

If her guess was correct, she would eventually hit something the _princess_ would squirm at. It would probably be deep…

Ah.

Taking the shovel out of the ground, the pointed tip was slightly smeared with a gooey red.

Found it. _Them._

Around the spot she was currently poking at, she dug a small hole – only just large enough to see what lay underneath. She had to dig deep, and the soil kept spilling in, but what she saw was enough to confirm her suspicions.

Piling the dirt back in and patting the ground to make it seem like nothing was touched, Minji stood up and brushed her hands clean of the soil.

There will be roses in this spot, soon.

 

Evening fell upon the land a few hours later. Minji huffed, still light headed from the elixir she drank earlier. She rolled to her other side as the setting sun shined its rays of light through the window blindingly. Turning this way, Minji had clear view of the wall clock.

Time for dinner.

Grudgingly, she got up from the bed and set her feet on the ground. Walking out of the bedroom brought her to the ‘development room.’ Minji kicked books away as she made her way to the bathroom that was connected just adjacent to the bedroom.

After splashing water onto her face, she looked into the mirror.

…Who was she, anymore…?

Scoffing, Minji turned and grabbed for a towel, wiping away the water.

She could look worse. Should could have one of those typical scars across an eye that anime villains do.

Dropping the towel onto the floor, she touched a gentle finger to her cheek. Perhaps it would’ve been better to have one. Then she wouldn’t have to look at her own eyes.

Shaking away the sudden thought, Minji walked back out into the computer room, still mindlessly stepping on literature on her way out.

“Ah, there you are. I was about to send someone to fetch you.”

“Savior Seongmin.” Minji greeted roughly when she entered the dining room. “What’s for dinner?”

The man chuckled, “You’ll see when it is put on the table. Now,” He paused, waiting for her to take a seat on the other side. “I’m the new Savior. I valiantly rescued you. You, who were on the brink of death. A freedom from life, however not through salvation. And I am graciously providing you a home amongst us, once more, after your betrayal. You will serve me well, won’t you, dear?”

Minji raised an eyebrow before replying in a sarcastic tone, “Grateful. Truly.”

Seongmin ignored the jab, pausing his speech once more to allow the Believers to set down their food and drinks.

Minji’s eyes tracked their drinks all the way until they were set down. Or rather, tracked the drink that was meant for _her;_ the glowing liquid staring right back at her.

Seongmin cleared his throat once the Believers left the room. “Mint Eye’s goal is to increase our influence. But before we get any deeper, why don’t you take a drink.”

“A good leader experiences what their subordinates do.” She countered, taking the drink in her hand and swirling it slowly.

“Perhaps another time, dear. You are still in your initiating process. Do you enjoy tea parties? You seem to be the sort that does. I will prepare one for the near future.” He picked up his glass of water. “This will have to do for now. Cheers.”

“Cheers.” Minji replied dryly, tipping the glass in a ‘clinking’ motion since the two of them weren’t close enough to actually touch glasses.

The bitter liquid assaulted her senses a second time that day. Minji felt her mind slow, a buzz covering reality to form a dream. She slowly exhaled, putting the glass down, eyes shining with a new glaze.

“About Ray,” Seongmin began when he noticed the elixir taking effect on her. “You will retrieve him. He is not to be left alone.”

“…And?” She said softly, afraid to raise her voice further incase her stomach decided to upheave everything. “What are we going to do… to him…?”

“He will either help us with our goal, or…” Seongmin took a bite of the food in front of him casually. “You will perform his cleansing ceremony and send him to salvation.”

Putting down his eating utensils, Seongmin got up and walked to her, kneeling beside her seat. He reached up and patted her cheek. “Don’t you want to bring Ray back? Don’t you want to make him feel the anger, the sorrow… _the betrayal,_ that he made you experience?”

“Hm…” She felt her blood start to boil, the utter hopelessness she felt from back then… The experience feeling like it was years ago rather than just days. Minji clenched her fists under the table, holding in a shiver.

Ray.

…Saeran.

“I can see it. I can see the anger in your eyes. We are begotten from darkness, my dear. Let it free, and you will reach salvation.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! ^^  
> <3


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